Always Fraser

by A. K. Steel

  I hang up; I don't need to hear her reply. It feels good to know she had to come crawling back, but I'm well and truly done with that life.

  "Everything all right?" asks Blake.

  "Yeah, get this. That was my old work wanting me back!"

  "Bet it felt good to turn her down."

  "Yeah, it did." I smile. Funny how things worked out today. I have been offered work and hope for my new future, and the past is testing me, seeing if I'll take the easy road and go back to what I know.

  I wonder how poor Janie is, so I send her a quick text.

  Elly: What's going on? The Dragon just rang and offered my job back.

  Janie: She's trying to save the sinking ship, but I think it's too late.

  Elly: What, the show is going to be axed?

  Janie: I'd say so. We have two jobs left, then nothing else booked. It's not looking good.

  Elly: I'm sorry, Janie.

  Janie: It's okay, I was ready to quit anyway. This way I'll get a payout until I work out what to do next.

  Elly: Good luck with it all. If you ever feel like leaving the city, let me know. I'm sure I could find something here for you.

  Janie: Thanks, I'll definitely think about it.

  “Okay, I’m all done, let's go,” Blake says, jumping up from behind his desk.

  I follow behind him and catch a glance at Fraser in his office; he's trying to pretend he's working but it's obvious he's watching us. We head out of the office and start walking down the street. “Where do you want to go?” I ask.

  “I'm taking you to Daisy's Diner, they have the best burgers in town.”

  “Nice, I do love a good burger.”

  We make it to the end of the street and the cutest little burger place with a flashing neon sign. This place is definitely a new addition to the Byron eateries. It’s all decked out like a 1950’s diner, with vinyl booth seats in pale pink and blue, and a pink-and-white checkerboard floor. It's so retro cool. I can see myself eating here a lot. We find one table left at the back. It's really busy. This place must have good food too. It looks like it's the place to have lunch for anyone who works around here.

  I look through the menu, and everything looks so good. “I’m going to have the Southern fried chicken, what about you? It's my shout to say thank you for helping me get some work.”

  “You don't have to do that,” he says.

  “Yeah, but I want to. You’ve been so nice to me and you didn't even know me, I really appreciate it.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll have the double beef and bacon with chips and a Coke.”

  “Not that hungry then," I tease. "I’ll be back in a sec.” I go to the counter and order our food and return with two Cokes.

  “So, Blake, looks like you’ll be seeing me a lot more.”

  “Fraser has offered you some work then?” He smiles.

  “Yeah, he's sending me the details, some townhouses that need styling.”

  “That's great. He seemed kind of pissed that we knew each other. Was everything okay?”

  “Yeah, he just needs to get over himself,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “Elly, you probably don’t remember this from the other night, but when we were playing that game, you told me you were in love with your brother’s best friend in high school. That was Fraser, wasn’t it?”

  God, I’m so embarrassed, I bury my head in my hands. “I told you that? What did you give me, truth serum or something? I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that.”

  He laughs at me, “Maybe it was that blue cocktail thing?”

  “It must have been. I’m never having one of them again,” I laugh back. “You know I’m not still in love with him, though, right? That was years ago.”

  “Are you sure? It's pretty clear there’s something between both of you. I’ve known Fraser for a while now, and he’s never reacted like that with a girl.”

  Our food arrives and we start eating, quietly lost in our own thoughts.

  “These are the best burgers,” I mumble into my food. Probably with the sauce running down my chin.

  “They are, hey?”

  “So, if he's your business partner, he's the one that you split with your girlfriend over, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah.” He nods.

  “Wow.” He's not making eye contact anymore, just eating his burger quietly. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.

  “Blake, are you okay? You’ve gone all quiet on me.”

  “Yeah, it's just I like hanging out with you. Your smile’s infectious, and you’re pretty cool for a chick.”

  “Me too, Blake. I’m feeling better than I have in months.”

  “Yeah, but now I know that you and Fraser have a history, we can't keep hanging out. Things are going to get messy. I could see how jealous he was, and I can't afford to go down that road with him again.”

  “We don’t have a history, we were just friends, you don't have to worry about Fraser.”

  “Yeah, just friends." He raises a suspicious brow at me. "I don’t think that's how he sees it. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

  Is it that obvious or did I tell him more than I can remember the other night? “He’s just a control freak. It's what he used to do to me in high school too. He’d scare every guy off who looked my way but didn't want me for himself. He just wanted to make sure no one else could either. You don't have to stop being friends with me because of him."

  “It's not that easy and you know it,” he grumbles, looking defeated.

  “Yes, it is, he doesn't get to control who I'm friends with. Besides, I'm pretty sure you’re into my friend Indie."

  He looks up from his food, surprised with my question. “Who?"

  "Don't play dumb with me, mister, I have eyes. I know you two were eye-fucking the shit out of each other the other morning at breakfast." His expression has changed to a small smirk and I know there's a story there.

  "You know nothing, Elly." He smiles.

  "Oh, I know plenty, Blake, and I will get it out of you." I laugh.

  "Not today, baby. I gotta get back to work, thanks for lunch.” He stands to leave.

  “Next time, Blakie." I smile. "See you later. Actually, you should come to my party Saturday night, it's my birthday. Indie will be there,” I tease. Well, I don't technically know if she will, but I love playing matchmaker and it's now my mission to get them both there.

  “Yeah, maybe. See you later, Elly.” I think I almost see him blush. I'm so right about this, I know it.

  “Okay, I’ll text you the details, hopefully you can come,” I call as he walks out.

  A couple of hours later, I walk up the street to the Hilltop Café and Indie’s face lights up as soon as she sees me. “Hey, Indie, thanks so much for this.”

  “No worries at all, chickee, it's going to be like old times,” she giggles. “It's so good you’re home. After I show you through, stay for a bit. We need to catch up properly before the after-school rush starts.”

  “We so do, I’ve missed you.”

  She shows me through the café and talks me through all the processes and the menus. It's all pretty basic. Indie and I worked at a café together every Saturday morning when we were at high school, so it's nothing new.

  “Come on, you make us a coffee to practise and we can sit and have a catch-up. I'll get us some cake too.”

  “Ooh, yes please. Hopefully it all comes back to me, it's been a while.”

  “It's not rocket science, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she laughs at me.

  Two attempts at making coffee later and we're sitting down with our coffee and cake. It was a little harder than I remember.

  “Sorry, I didn’t call much. Life just got crazy, you know?” I say with a small smile, grabbing her hand across the table and giving it a squeeze. We were so close, and I know she has been through a lot over the last few years.

  “It's okay, I didn't either, but it's nice to have you home now.” She smiles back.

  “I’m g
oing to stay this time. I’m starting up an interior styling business.”

  “Really? That's so exciting.”

  “Hey, I checked out your Facebook page after I ran into you the other day. I want to use some of your art for my first freelance job. Would that be okay? Your art would be perfect with the look we’re going for.”

  “Really? That would be amazing. What do you need?”

  “I’m not 100% sure yet. I’ll have a look over the brief and let you know.”

  “Who are you working for?”

  “Remember Fraser Davis from high school? He has an architecture business here in Byron now, with the builder I was here with the other day. You remember Blake.”

  Her eyes raise to mine, and bingo! I knew there was something there, and she has just confirmed it. “Fraser and Blake, hey? That should be interesting,” she says, raising her eyebrow at me.

  “What? Why does everyone keep saying things to me like that?”

  “No reason.”

  “Anyway, what happened with Hayden? I always thought you two would get married and have babies.

  “How did you know we split?"

  "Facebook. What happened? If you don't mind me asking?"

  "He broke it off, wanted to experience different things. He was scared that, being with me since high school, he was missing out on something.”

  “Wow, that's harsh. I’m sorry, Indie.” Her green eyes are glassy, and I can see she's still hurting. I wrap my arm around her and give her a comforting squeeze.

  “Well, Indie, babe, we’re in this together now. Who would have thought that at 25 we would still be no closer to knowing what to do with our lives than when we were 18.”

  She has a little giggle. “Yeah, I know. It's okay, Elly, it was a while ago, and the more I think about it, he was right. We were just going along with it all because it was easy and comfortable. We weren’t in love anymore. I’m glad he had the guts, I didn’t, before we got married and had kids. It could have been such a mess.”

  “Yeah, true.” I sit and sip my coffee while I think about how I can change our luck with men. “This cake is so good. I’m going to get fat working here.” We both laugh.

  “You, my dear, will never get fat. If I remember right, you used to eat as much as Drew and still not put on a thing! It is good, though, hey? My boss Rachel makes all the food here and her cakes are to die for. She’s out at the moment but I'll introduce you tomorrow.”

  I roll my eyes at her. It used to be a bit of a joke at school that I could eat whatever junk I wanted and not get fat. “I’m sure it’ll catch up with me one day.” I clap my hands all excited, “I’ve just had a thought. We’re both single girls, we need to go out and celebrate. Drew will be home on Wednesday. We should go for drinks Thursday or Friday night, what do you say?”

  “Yes, we so should. I haven’t been out in forever. I can do Friday night, don’t have to work Saturday.”

  “Perfect. Oh, and you have to come to my party on Saturday night too. Mum’s organising it because Drew’s home and we haven’t been able to celebrate together for a while. And Blake will be there.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “Who?"

  "You're as bad as each other, I'm going to get to the bottom of whatever is going on between the two of you."

  "There's nothing to get to the bottom of. Can you believe your dork brother is some big surf star travelling the world and followed by thousands on Instagram?”

  “I know, right? What do you mean followed by thousands on Instagram?”

  “He’s like one of those influencers or something, Elly. Haven’t you seen his page?”

  “No, but there's no way he’s an influencer. He's totally against all that shit. What, you follow him?”

  “Everyone we went to high school with follows him. He got out of here and made it big. Plus, your brother’s kinda hot!”

  “Uh, yuck. You know he’s my brother, he’s not hot, he’s a dork.” She’s cracking up at my face now, and it feels like we're taken back to the good old days, hiding out in the art studio creating, so we could avoid the school bitches.

  The café is starting to fill up with people and the girl behind the counter looks flustered.

  “I’ll be there,” calls Indie, sounding excited. “Do you want me to ask Rachel about the cake? She does birthday cakes too.”

  “Yeah, that would be perfect, thanks.”

  “I better get back to work, we're getting busy again. You okay to start tomorrow at ten? You can do a quiet shift to start with.”

  “Thanks, Indie.” I hug her goodbye and head off down the street. After today, I can take getting a job off my to-do list.

  Chapter Five

  Fraser

  I jump up from my desk excitedly. I haven’t seen this idiot's face in forever. “Look who the cat dragged in. Drew Walker, it's really you, in the flesh, not some superstar on my screen, with his girly haircut and all.”

  “Girly haircut, speak for yourself! I’ve missed you too, mate,” he laughs, checking out the place. “Sweet office.”

  “Yeah, it's not bad, hey. It had to be something nice; you can hardly trust someone to design and build your house if their office is ugly as fuck."

  “True, I guess.” He shrugs, taking a seat.

  “What’s been going on with you, man? I’ve been following you on the tour this year. Number eight, hey, you’ve got to be happy with that!”

  “Not till I’m number one, man. I’ll be happy when I’m number one.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr Perfection, I forgot you are the most competitive person I know, second only to your sister.”

  “Yeah, right, you know I’m more competitive than her. Don’t suppose you want to come for a surf with me while I’m home? I got to keep it up.”

  “No way. You’d kick my arse. I haven’t been out for ages.”

  “It'll be wicked, you should come.”

  “I'll think about it."

  "Elly tells me you’ve given her some work. She's excited about it. Thanks for that, man, she needed her luck to change.”

  “She’s earned it. Her work is really good, and it sounds like she had a shitty time with her last boss. She deserves a go. No special treatment.”

  “Yeah, sure, everyone knows you’ve got a soft spot for her.”

  “Of course, I will always look out for her, she's your sister. She’s nearly finished the project I gave her a month to work on, in less than a week. So far, her work speaks for itself. So, you seeing anyone?”

  “Everyone,” he laughs. “I’m in a different country every few weeks. It's a single man's dream.”

  “I bet. You’ll have to take me with you,” I laugh, but the truth is, all I can think about since she was in my office on Monday is Elly—his twin sister and the only girl I really can't have.

  “You're not seeing anyone? Fraser Davis without some chick hanging off him, there's no way.”

  “You're so funny. Of course I’m seeing someone, but she's no one special.”

  “Nothing much has changed then.”

  “When are we hitting the town?”

  “Elly wants to go out Friday night, you free?” he asks.

  Does she now! This should be interesting. A night out with the Walker twins, just like old times. “Yeah, sounds good, man.”

  “Okay. I guess I’d better let you get some work done, but I’ll see you Friday,” he says, getting up to leave.

  "Yeah, man, see you then."

  Elena

  It's finally Friday night. I’ve spent this week learning how to use the extremely sensitive coffee machine at the café. You wouldn’t think it would be that hard, but that machine hates me! The boss, Rachel, is lovely and very patient. I'm sure she should have already fired me. I’ve had a shift there every day, just for a few hours, which is perfect because it gives me time to work on the styling project for The Green Door guys.

  Drew’s been home for two days and it’s been amazing. Just like old times; man, I have missed him
. We're not the type of twins that know each other's thoughts or anything, but we have always been close and it's so nice to have him home for a while. He’s back to his usual self, though, eating all the food in the house, making everything a competition, and talking nonstop about how awesome he is at surfing.

  Tonight, we're going out with Theo, Fiona, Blake, and Fraser, so Drew can catch up with the boys and I can party with Indie. That girl needs a night out more than me and that's saying something.

  “I'm so excited we're going out tonight, chick. It's going to be like old times, it's so weird,” she calls excitedly from in my wardrobe, where she's fixing her makeup in the mirror.

  “I know, it's just what we need, a night out to check out the local talent. We're hooking up with some hotties tonight, Indie, and getting you over what’s-his-name,” I say, giving her a cheeky wink.

  We’re both dressed to impress tonight. Indie has been here for an hour getting ready. Her short dark hair is curled slightly, and her green eyes really pop with the smoky eye shadow. In high school, we used to spend hours in my room playing with makeup and creating different versions of ourselves. She's the kind of girl who can pull off any style and look like a completely different person every time. She has an amazing bone structure and a body to die for. Tonight, she’s rocking an edgy short black dress that shows off the intricate flower tattoos that trail down her right arm.

  “Did this hurt?” I ask, as I run my hand over her tattoos. “I’ve always wanted to get one, but I’ve been too scared. You know how I am with needles.”

  She laughs at me, “Honestly, anyone else I’d say do it, it doesn’t hurt that much, but not you, Elly. Witnessing you freak out getting your year-nine immunisations as you passed out in front of the hottest guy in school. Hilarious, but not something I want to see again.”

  “Ha ha, so funny, some friend you are. As I remember, you were pretty happy with me that day because it got us out of the last class of maths.”

  “You’re right, I was, it was still funny, though. If you really want one, I’ll take you. I know a guy and I can hold your hand. It's nothing like an injection, just stings a little and kind of feels warm but doesn’t hurt. You would be fine.”