WE ARE ONE: Volume Two

by Jewel, Bella

  I swatted his hand away. “Yes. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Adelaide?”

  “Bus leaves in a few minutes. Just thought I’d poke my head in and remind you that the plumber is comin’ over at 7pm. You don’t need to be home. I just know how you are about Pugly and visitors.”

  “Shit! Is that tonight?” I covered my mouth with my hand and quickly pondered a solution, realising it could actually be a blessing in disguise. It was the perfect excuse to get out of accompanying Elliot to the gala.

  “Yeah. Why? What’s the problem?”

  “Ah, nothing. It’s fine. It’s perfect.”

  He leaned over the counter and helped himself to one of my Minties. “What are you up to?”

  “Nothing. I had plans tonight, plans that were planned for me. Now I can get out of them.”

  “If you smile any wider your face will rip.”

  “Will not.”

  He stole another Mintie. “So what plans are you ditching?”

  “None of your business.”

  “They involve pretty boy geek, don’t they?”

  I rolled my eyes and bent down, pretending to look for something in a cupboard under the counter.

  “He likes you.”

  “Thanks, Einstein, but I know that already.”

  “No, he really likes you.”

  Glancing up through my lashes at him, I was just about to explain that Elliot and I were only friends and would always be only friends when one of the Assistant Coaches opened the door to the store and barked for Chris to get his annoying arse on the bus.

  “Gotta go, Duck,” he said, pushing off the counter and turning around.

  I stood up. “Duck? Really?”

  “Yep. Really.”

  “You’re so original.”

  “Yep. One and only, despite what pretty boy geek says.”

  “He’s not a geek.”

  “He is, but that’s okay. You should go out with him, Duck. Have fun. Stop being a quack.” He burst into laughter as he opened the door and looked back at me. “Get it? Quack?”

  I did what I always did and flipped him the bird. Unfortunately, it was at the exact moment a customer walked in through the door, blushing as Chris held it open for her. I flipped my bird around until I was waving like one, and yeah, it only made him laugh more.

  * * *

  A few hours later, I’d prepared myself enough to ring Elliot and tell him the bad news. I’d even rehearsed it in front of the bathroom mirror during my lunch break. I was poised. Confident. Determined. Unimpressionable. I wasn’t going to be influenced by his influential ways. Not any more.

  Blowing a puff of you’ve-got-this-shit out of my mouth, I dialled his number. The last time I’d tried ringing his mobile, he hadn’t answered, so I’d rang him direct at work and got some strange sounding secretary instead. I didn’t want to have to talk to her again.

  “You’re not getting out of it, Danielle, so if this is an ‘I’m sick’ call, suck it up.”

  Sheesh. Does he know me that well?

  “I’m not sick, Lots”

  “Good. Because telling yourself you’re sick is not an affirmation.”

  His stupid knowledge of random crap had already thrown me off my game plan. I needed to just come out with my non-bogus bogus excuse anyway. “I’m sorry. But I actually can’t come. For real. I completely forgot that a plumber was scheduled to come by my house tonight.”

  “Do you need to be there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Ha! I’d prepared myself for this response.

  “Because of Dudley. I can’t risk him getting out. It’s happened before.”

  If I could’ve high-fived myself, I would’ve.

  “Then bring him here.”

  What? I hadn’t planned for that response, at all.

  “Um … I …” Frantically looking around me, my eyes bounced from object to object, as if I’d find a solution somewhere in the merchandise store, as if a stapler or coat-hanger could provide the perfect alibi for my predicament.

  They couldn’t.

  Nothing could.

  “I … ah … HE SHITS EVERYWHERE,” I blurted triumphantly.

  “I thought we agreed no more lies, Danielle?”

  “I’m not lying; he does … sometimes. I can’t guarantee he won’t shit all over your apartment. Honestly, I’d hate for him to lay a sloppy joe style turd on your carpet.”

  Stumbling across my reflection in the mirror of the open changeroom cubicle door to my left, I noticed my hand was on my hip. Grr. He’s doing it again. He has me on the defence. Damn him.

  “We can put toilet mats down and keep him segregated to the laundry.”

  “No. We can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want to put you out.”

  “You’ll be putting me out by not coming tonight.”

  “Ugh! Laundries are tiny.”

  “Mine’s big enough for Pugly.”

  “Hey! Don’t you start!” I snapped.

  “Start what?”

  “Calling Dudley Pugly.”

  “I didn’t.” He almost sounded convinced.

  “Yeah, you did.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Very.”

  Elliot was silent for a minute, and I think I even heard him whisper, ‘shit’.

  “Sorry. Look, Dudley will be fine at my place. I promise.”

  “I dunno, Elliot,” I whined.

  “Danielle, please! Please don’t bail on me. I’ve never wanted to take anybody anywhere, and for some strange reason, I’ve been really looking forward to taking you to this.”

  Anybody anywhere? My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. Damn it. This isn’t going how I planned.

  Guilt over trying to ditch him swirled in my stomach. “Fine.”

  “Fine?” he asked, his tone hopeful. Relieved.

  “Yes. Fine,” I groaned. “We’ll see you at 5:30pm.”

  * * *

  When Dudley and I pulled up to Elliot’s building, I had to duck in order to see the top of it through my windscreen. My guess was that it was roughly thirty storeys high, given that Elliot was on the 25th floor. So I knew it was at least that high.

  Scanning the street front of the building for the ramp to the underground carpark, I made out the keypad post and headed that way, stopping and punching in the code Elliot had given me. The steel gate lifted, slowly, before I continued to basement number two and parked in a spot marked ‘guest’.

  It was all very ritzy and lavish, something I wasn’t used to, which made me both nervous and excited.

  “Lots wasn’t lying when he said he had lots of money,” I said to Dudley, as I unhooked his harness from the seatbelt.

  He launched himself onto the ground, narrowly missing my evening dress, the only one I’ve ever owned. The reason I owned it was because Chris took me as his plus-one to the Brownlow Medal count one year; easily one of the worst nights of my life. I’d been the barnacle-covered starfish in a sea of stunning legs belonging to women who all looked as if they belonged on a Victoria’s Secret runway, and there’d been a constant hush of jealous, competitive, and snide remarks blew over the ceremony like a whipping breeze. Oh, and it had also been the night Chris and I fucked.

  I blamed it on the dress.

  Oh NO!

  “Dudley! Why did I wear this dress?” I screeched, halting, which inevitably halted his eager steps toward the nearest concrete pylon.

  I looked down the length of my body and froze, Lilac satin and chiffon swishing across the tops of my feet as I jerked the leash. It was a boobie dress. Gorgeous. But definitely a boobie dress, the lace décolletage dipping toward my navel. Heck, if I leaned forward any further, I could practically turn it into a vagina dress. Stupid, stupid idiot.

  Frantically adjusting the wide-open space that displayed my puppies like Xmas tree baubles, I contemplated heading back to my car and locking the doo
rs when Dudley dashed for the pylon he so desperately wanted to pee on.

  “Shit, Dudley!” I stumbled in my sparkly silver heels I’d bought on sale at Myer and let him cock his leg and mark his territory. It was better here than inside.

  You can do this, Danielle. This dress is not cursed. Just because it led to Chris-fuckery doesn’t mean it will do the same with Elliot. You’re wearing Spanx AND knickers. You can keep them on. If they stay on, no fuckery will happen, okay?

  “Right. Spanx and knickers are staying on. They are not coming off. Ever,” I rambled, as I marched toward the elevator.

  They’d come off at some stage, of course, just not in the presence of Elliot. We were friends, once best friends, and I missed that. I’d felt safe, happy and secure with him. I’d had someone I could rely on, share with, and never be afraid of losing because of sex or love. And that was a special thing. Sharing a bond with another without the threat of sexual hurdles was the best thing I’d ever experienced, except I’d lost it. I’d lost him. And all because he moved and I didn’t try hard enough to get him back. All because a green-eyed monster had clouded my vision, and by the time I was able to see through the verdant fog, it had been too late.

  Blinking the tears that had formed in my eyes, the painful reminder of just how much I missed Elliot was a shock to my system, a tightening strain within my chest.

  “Oh my God,” I breathed out, staring wide-eyed at my reflection in the mirrored panelling of the elevator cart. “I’ve missed him so much. I miss him so much.”

  My heart began pounding ferociously, knocking on my ribcage like a madman trying to break down a door. Eyeliner and mascara had smudged under my damp eyes, far exceeding what could be passed off as a smokey eye look, so I wiped it and sucked in a deep breath, which was when it hit me.

  I want my friend back. He’s here … in my life! This is my chance to get back the best thing that ever happened to me.

  Chapter Ten

  My palms were sweating by the time I heard the elevator down the hall ding and its doors open, but when I heard Danielle’s voice shortly after, ushering Pugly along and trying to prevent him from pissing on my neighbour’s front door, my entire body clammed up.

  For starters, I wasn’t a fan of dogs, especially ugly ones. And Pugly definitely deserved his nickname. So why I’d agreed to house him in my very clean and pet free apartment while we attended the gala was beyond me. Secondly, I never invited anyone to my apartment, only my family. And, on the odd occasion, my mate from the office, but that tended to be for work related stuff, like when we were in the thick of a case together.

  Sticking my finger under my shirt collar at the base of my throat, I loosened it just slightly. I hadn’t yet put on a tie because I was hoping I’d have one to match the colour of Danielle’s dress, which wouldn’t be too difficult considering I pretty much owned a tie of every colour. I even had one in cochineal, one of the rarest colours in the world due to its pigment being derived from the die of squashed beetles. Buuuuuut I doubted she’d be wearing that colour. Danielle wasn’t a cochineal type of girl. Her beauty was best paired with soft pastels that let her shine and be the star she was.

  Why am I even thinking about this shit? Colours? Where’s your colourless balls, Elliot?

  The light tap of her knuckles sounded against my door. I froze. This was it. Our first proper date, although she had no idea it was that. She’d never have agreed to come had I mentioned my thoughts about it.

  Tucking my shirt into the waistline of my trousers, I walked to the door and quickly smoothed my hair back before opening it.

  “Hi, come i—” I’d barely been able to finish my sentence before Pugly jumped up my leg, his claws gripping my skin through the cotton. “Whoa. Hey, someone is excited to be here,” I added, my face part smile part squint that was masking the pain shooting up my shins. I bent down and took his talons into my hands, as if we were about to waltz into my apartment together. “Dudley, how are you, mate?”

  Purple toenail polish caught my eye, followed by shiny, silver straps of a pair of heels. I wasn’t a foot-man, but the feet standing before me were by far the prettiest I’d ever seen. My eyes continued to travel up Danielle’s leg, the light purple satin and lace of her dress falling to either side like curtains, revealing her golden skin. I swallowed, hard, desperate to trail my tongue along it. I wanted to taste her so bad.

  Swallowing yet again, I forced myself to continue climbing her body with my eyes, stopping once more where her thigh disappeared behind the material. Fuck! I lowered my knee to the ground, needing some stability because my head all of a sudden felt light. She looked so damn sexy and I hadn’t even travelled half way.

  Tipping my head back, I continued the length of her, nearly toppling over when my eyes caught sight of her breasts, which, just like her leg, were perfectly framed by her draping dress. Jesus fucking Christ! Never had I seen a woman display that much skin and still maintain an air of class and modesty.

  “Elliot!”

  I tried to answer but I think I drooled, instead.

  “ELLIOT!”

  “What?” My eyes snapped to hers.

  “You’re pashing my dog. It’s disturbing.”

  At that precise moment, I became acutely aware of the slimy, foul smelling tongue that was licking my face.

  I spat, choked, and pushed him off me. “Yuk. Dudley, not cool!”

  Danielle erupted into laughter. “He likes you lots, Lots.”

  “Well, I don’t like him.” I rose to my feet again while wiping my face. “Not like that anyway.”

  “Shame. You both make a great couple.”

  I wanted to pull her to me and tell her that we make a great couple, but I didn’t. I just stood there instead. My eyes and mouth lost in translation.

  “Soooo,” she drawled, still giggling while nodding over my shoulder to my apartment “This is all a bit … grand!”

  “Sorry.” I stood back and gestured she enter. “Please, come in. Let’s get Dudley settled.”

  As she walked past, the scent of her perfume near lulled me into a trance, and I swear I followed behind her like a love-struck Pepé Le Pew with cochineal coloured hearts for eyes.

  “Can I let him off the lead?” she asked.

  “Sure.” I wasn’t really interested in Pugly. Danielle’s tight swaying arse was far more interesting.

  “Excellent! He should just sniff around at first. Scope out the joint. I don’t think he’ll pee on anything.”

  The words “think” and “pee” registered like warning bells, my love heart eyes popping just like they did on the TV screen.

  I pinpointed an exploring Pugly. “You think, or you know?”

  “Er … ‘know’. Yeah. He won’t pee.” She placed the lead on the kitchen table and made her way to the floor to ceiling windows. “Wow, Lots. This view is incredible.”

  My eyes zeroed in on the lead, and I shuddered. The kitchen table was an eating-place. Dog leads shouldn’t share eating-places.

  Trying to shake the thought out of my head, I answered Danielle but was distracted by Dudley wiping his snout along the base of my sofa. “Yeahhhhh, it’s … it’s great!” What the fuck is he doing, trying to create the longest dog snot trail? “Maybe we should get Dudley settled in the laundry, yeah?”

  “In a minute,” she said, dismissively, not even turning to face me. “We’ve got time. I checked, and it will only take us fifteen or so minutes to get to the gala in an Uber.”

  Fuck the Uber and fuck the gala. I didn’t care about those. What I cared about was Dudley using my rug as a flea dispenser.

  “Traffic is heavy tonight. We shouldn’t chance it.”

  She spun to face me. “Oh my god! You’re such a worry-wart. When did you become so uptight?”

  “I’m not. I just don’t like being late.”

  Dudley performed a circle manoeuvrer, as if preparing to take a dump.

  “He’s not going to shit on my rug is he?”

&nbs
p; Danielle’s eyes widened. “Um … of course not.” She darted toward him. “Dudley, come here.”

  The ugly little fuck took off down the hallway, Danielle in tow, her heels clicking against the floorboards. “DUDLEY!”

  I followed, too. “Has he ever been trained?”

  “Trained, as in obedience training? No! He’s a dog, not an army cadet.”

  “Dogs need training, Danielle.”

  “I disagree. They need love and attention.” She kept chasing after him, following him into my bedroom and cornering the little turd.

  “Clearly,” I responded, sarcastically.

  Pugly darted around her and jumped onto my bed. We both launched after him, our shoulders colliding a split second before our heads. He nearly escaped again, but I secured his wiggling little arse.

  “Ow, my head,” Danielle whined. “That hurt.” She fell back onto my mattress, her chocolate brown curls splayed around her face, her hands massaging her head, her eyes pressed shut. She looked like an angel, an angel with a sore head but an angel nonetheless.

  I wanted to take a photo, frame it, and secure it to my wall so that I could stare at it before I went to bed and each morning when I woke up. She could be daily motivation of why life is so important, because it’s short, and everything could be gone before the blink of an eye.

  I didn’t want to blink. I didn’t want to lose her again. That was for certain. No matter what happened in the next two months, I would not let her slip through my fingers again. Ever.

  Dodging Pugly’s intrusive tongue, I provided some distance between my face and his. “Come on, you. I’m going to show you to your room now.”

  Danielle opened her eyes and smiled. “See? Just love and attention.”

  I grumbled.

  * * *

  She’d been right. It had only taken us fifteen minutes in an Uber to get to the gala venue. Add on the five minutes it took to get Pugly settled and then another two to find a tie that matched her dress, and we’d ended up being only five minutes late, which I could cope with.

  “Oh, my Lord, Danielle,” my mother said, as she stood up from the table. “You look simply stunning.”