Spinning around, I came face to face with Seth. Well, he was looking in my eyes, and I was staring at his sweaty chest. Not that anyone would blame me. He was buff, tanned, and I don’t know if it was saltwater dotting his skin or sweat, it didn’t matter. My mouth watered at the sight and I wanted to lick it off.
“Morning, Seth. You still trying to learn to surf?”
“I’m starting to think I should probably just stick to soccer.”
“Might be a good idea.”
“How are you feeling this morning? I didn’t keep you up too late last night, did I?”
Seth sounded nervous. It was cute but unlike him. Not that I could blame him. Since we’d talked the other night and I’d given him my new number, something I’d almost given myself an ulcer over as soon as I’d done it, we’d been up late every night chatting about absolutely nothing. We talked about movies and bands we wanted to see. Seth told me about all the places in the world he wanted to visit, and I confessed my dream to bake the perfect lemon meringue pie. For a guy, he was a damn good listener and I was a very lucky girl to have him in my corner.
“Well, I may just need a nap this afternoon, but I’m good. How are you feeling today?”
“As long as I don’t think about it, everything’s sweet.”
One thing I’d learnt about Seth was he loved living in denial. If he could pretend it wasn’t an issue or it wasn’t happening, then it wasn’t. Simple. Easy. I wish I could be more like him sometimes.
“You’re such a guy sometimes.”
“Claire, I’ll tell you a little secret. I’m a guy all the time.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I couldn’t help but laugh. He had a point. “What are you doing down here anyway?”
After a few minutes talking shit, something we’d become masters at, I couldn’t stand it anymore. Before everything had gone to hell, Seth and I were making progress. I mean, the last time I was alone with him, we were driving home after a night spent cocooned in a hotel room where he spent hours wringing every ounce of pleasure from my body leaving me boneless and breathless. Now we were standing here talking about the weather like we were strangers. It was fucking ridiculous.
“So, are you going to ask me out again or was that a one-time thing?” I threw the comment out there not giving a shit who was walking past or who heard me. We’d been up late every night chatting about absolutely nothing… but we’d avoided anything of real consequence. I wasn’t ready to talk about it, mainly because I was embarrassed. No matter how many times Isaac tried to tell me it wasn’t my fault, I wasn’t listening. And Seth, well I knew he deserved the truth, but I had no idea how to tell him, so I’d done what I was quickly becoming a master at…avoiding.
Obviously, I’d caught Seth off guard. He coughed and spluttered and took a step back. I’d pushed him too far. He was running. Some days I was a complete moron. If only I thought through the consequences of my actions, I wouldn’t make myself look like such an idiot, something I was getting way too good at these days.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you…” I started backtracking.
“It’s not that,” Seth scrubbed his hand down his face as if to buy himself some time, “I just didn’t think you wanted…”
“I wanted what?” I pushed.
If this was where this ended, well then, that sucked, but it is what it is. Nothing I could do about it so there was no point backing down now. Knowing either way had to be better than continuing to pretend to be a mushroom and stay in the dark. I was getting really good at dreaming up scenarios in my head of what Seth was thinking and why. Hearing him say it might sting like a motherfucker, but I’d live. After all, I’d survived worse. What harm could a little rejection do?
“After the other day, I thought you just wanted to be friends,” Seth confirmed, his cheeks turning pink with his confession.
“Why the hell would you think that?”
Friends? Friends? Yeah sure, I wanted to be mates with Seth. He was a good guy and so far, he’d proven to be honest and trustworthy, which was more than I could say about a lot of other guys I knew, but I also wanted him to fuck me seven ways to Sunday.
“The other day you told me what a good guy I was. And you said ‘thanks for being such a great friend’, or something like that.”
Oh, fuck me.
I had said those things. And I meant every damn word. He was a good guy and a great friend, but that wasn’t all he was. And it certainly wasn’t all I wanted from him. I needed to fix this, and I needed to fix it now. The last thing I needed in my already overly complicated life right at the moment was some dumb miscommunication which cost us both precious moments when we could’ve been having some fun.
The problem was the more I got to know Seth, the more I wanted to know. I knew he was hurting about not being selected last week and I knew he was shitting himself that tomorrow when selection time came around again, his name wouldn’t be on the sheet. The part that made it hard though, was until we sorted us out, if there even could be an us, I couldn’t be the one sitting beside him when he got the news, good, bad or indifferent to help him deal with it. I wanted to be the one there to celebrate his successes and console him when things didn’t go to plan. All I needed was for him to let me.
Spending two days lying in bed, staring at the ceiling replaying everything that had happened had left me more determined than ever that I had to make each day, each moment count. I was going to use the good crockery and drink the good wine. The dresses stashed away in the back of my cupboard waiting for me to go somewhere worthy of wearing them would be pulled out and worn to the supermarket if I felt like it. No one knew what tomorrow held. We could be here, or we could be gone. We didn’t know. We had no control over the universe no matter how much we’d like to believe we did.
Dropping my shoes in the sand, I reached out and grabbed Seth’s hand, surprising him. His whole body went ramrod straight, and I watched his abs as he sucked in short sharp breaths. I couldn’t wait until I got him somewhere more private where I could take my time exploring every impressive ridge on his built body.
“Seth, I don’t want to be your friend.”
The look on his face changed, and all the hope and light in his eyes vanished instantly. “Oh,” he conceded, trying to wriggle his hand free from my grip.
“Sorry! That came out wrong. I don’t only want to be your friend. I thought we had something. Something pretty incredible. I want to see where it goes. If you do.”
Now it was my turn to feel vulnerable. I talked a big game and I’d laid it all out there, but standing here waiting for an answer wasn’t my idea of fun.
And the prick kept me waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
It took for-fucking-ever before a smile broke out across his face and all the weight that’d been building on my shoulders started to feel just a little lighter. Hope. It was hope that was filling my body and I’d never been more grateful.
“Fuck yeah, I do,” he growled before reaching for the scruff of my neck and dragging me against him and kissing me like I’d been craving for days.
28
Seth
This was stupid.
Claire was going to laugh her arse off. Laugh at me. Not that I could blame her. It was completely ridiculous.
I was sitting in her driveway, staring up at the house already running five minutes late, but I couldn’t go up there like this. I needed to think of another option. This was dumb. I don’t know why I even thought for a second this was a good idea.
A knock on the window startled me. Winding down the window, I came face to face with Claire’s overly protective and slightly scary brother.
“You gonna grow a pair and come upstairs?”
“I was just…just…” I couldn’t even come up with a bullshit excuse, let alone a good one.
“Hiding in your car?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, come on then. She’s w
aiting inside.”
I climbed out of the car and followed Isaac up the stairs. At the front door, he turned and stopped me. “Look, Seth, you seem like a good guy, and I know Claire really likes you, but she’s had a rough couple of weeks. Be nice to her.”
“Yeah. Wanna share with me what the story is?”
“It’s Claire’s story to tell you when she’s ready. Just try not to push.”
“Message heard loud and clear,” I confirmed.
Isaac studied me for a minute before he opened the door and invited me in. “Claire! Seth’s here!” Isaac called out.
“Okay. Be out in a minute,” came her reply, floating through the house.
“So, where you guys heading tonight?” Warner asked as he sauntered into the room. Guy definitely had swagger.
“Ummm…” The last thing I wanted to do was tell them what I’d been thinking before I realised how stupid I sounded.
Claire appeared, saving me from having to answer. She looked happier, lighter than last time I’d seen her. Her long blonde hair was curled on the ends and danced around the top of her boobs that were propped up and peeking out the top of her pink dress.
“Hey, Seth! You ready to go?” Claire smiled up at me, and suddenly all my worries vanished.
“Yep. Let’s do it!”
Grabbing her purse off the counter, Claire stepped in beside me, tangled her fingers with mine and started to lead me out the door. Behind me, I heard coughing and turned back to find Warner and Isaac eyeballing me with their arms folded across their chests. I think they were trying to look menacing, but the truth was they just looked constipated.
“Problem?” I challenged.
“Remember what I told you,” Isaac warned before turning and walking away leaving me there with Warner.
“Warner, go away,” Claire shooed him and pulled me down the stairs.
Satisfied with the annoyed look on Warner’s face, I pushed their threats away and focused on keeping that smile on Claire’s face.
She waited until we were in the car before she spun in her seat and faced me, “So, now that those two butt heads are out of earshot, are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?”
“Nope.”
“Are you at least going to tell me how long you plan on keeping me?”
“Did big brother give you a curfew?”
She poked her tongue out at me before reaching over and pinching my arm. “Ouch! What’d you do that for?”
“Because you’re being a twat.”
“A twat?”
“Yes. A twat.”
“Never been called a twat before.”
“Well, first time for everything. Now, drive.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Doing as I was told, I backed out of the driveway and pumped up the music. We’d been driving for twenty minutes, and Claire was getting fidgety when I turned off the main road and onto the esplanade that ran the length of the beach.
“It’s so beautiful,” Claire murmured to herself, staring out the window.
She wasn’t wrong. It was stunning. The sand was white, the water clear, and the boardwalk that wrapped around the edge was dotted with people enjoying the late afternoon sun. But if she thought it looked amazing from here, I couldn’t wait to hear what she thought when she saw it from my balcony, twelve stories up.
Turning away from the beach and into the underground car park, I could feel Claire’s eyes boring a hole into the side of my head. “Wh-where are you taking me?”
“Trust me,” I offered, winding down the window and swiping my fob against the sensor.
It was too late to turn back now. I just hoped I’d made the right call.
It’s amazing how fast things can move when you throw money at them. I only put the offer in on Saturday night and had it accepted. Sunday morning, I was signing contacts and depositing a chunk of cash into a bank account. By Tuesday afternoon, we had licence arrangements in place, and I was collecting keys.
After running into Claire on the beach earlier, I’d got my butt in gear and gone on a shopping spree. I couldn’t very well move in without at least the bare essentials. A bed, fridge, and TV were a must-have. The only thing I couldn’t buy was faster delivery. It was all arriving here on Friday and nothing I could do could hurry it along. Unfortunately.
Pulling into the middle of my parking spot, I came to a stop and unbuckled my belt before looking over at Claire. She was trying to put on a brave face, but it was all bullshit. Her eyes were wide, her breathing heavy, and tiny dots of sweat had broken out along her forehead.
“Don’t stress. I got you,” I attempted to reassure her which only earned me a strained smile which gave her a slightly crazy look.
It may have been a shiny new apartment complex, but the basement car park was still dark and dingy. Jumping out, I opened the back door and grabbed the esky I’d borrowed from Luca before rounding the car and taking Claire’s hand, leading her towards the elevator.
“Can you press twelve for me please?” I asked. The last thing I wanted to do was let go of Claire’s hand.
She hit the button, and we started moving while Claire stared at me with such intensity I felt my cheeks burn. I couldn’t figure out what she was seeing, but I hoped she wasn’t contemplating running. Having her ghost on me once was bad enough, I’d be more than pissed if she did it again, even if she had a damn good reason.
Announcing our arrival with a loud ding, we stepped off the elevator and headed the short way down the hall before coming to a stop in front of my door. Setting the esky down on the tiles, I reached into my pocket.
“Aren’t you going to knock?” Claire questioned.
“Nope. I have the key.”
Jabbing the key in the lock, I opened the door and held it wide, encouraging her to pass before picking up the esky and following her.
After setting the esky down on the kitchen bench, I found Claire standing in the living room, her arms spread wide. “It smells brand new.”
“Because it is.”
“Seth…where are we? Whose place is this? And why do you have a key?”
“This is my place.”
“Your place?”
“Yeah.”
“And when did you get this?”
“Ah, I picked up the keys yesterday. Hence the lack of furniture.”
“Wow! You don’t muck around, do you?”
“Not when I know what I want,” I replied, looking straight at Claire, refusing to break eye contact. She needed to know what I was thinking and where I stood. I wasn’t fucking around here. She was an awesome chick and one I wanted to spend as much time with as possible, even if that made me a pussy.
“Well then, are you going to give me the grand tour?”
“Let’s do it!”
I stuck my hand out and waited for her to take it before guiding her around my new place. It felt oddly large without anything in here and our voices echoing through the empty rooms, but they wouldn’t be empty for long. At first, Claire didn’t say much, and I wasn’t sure if she loved it or hated it. The problem was, I didn’t realise how badly I was counting on her approval until her silence was killing me. Then, seemingly out of nowhere she started making suggestions about where the couch should go and how I should put a funky print on the wall.
But I’d saved the best for last. Leading her out on to the balcony, her steps faulted as she gasped and covered her mouth. This was the view that sold me. The one worth every single dollar I’d paid for this very expensive apartment.
“Fuck, Seth… this view…” Claire didn’t have the words to describe it and frankly neither did I.
As soon as I’d picked up the keys last night, I’d come here and spent half an hour just staring out across the water. I had a completely unobstructed view of the entire length of the beach. As far as you could see, water stretched on the horizon, and I was up high enough that the people down below looked like ants scurrying along the boardwalk. It was something I was looking f
orward to waking up to each morning and something I’d never tire of looking at.
Growing up in Melbourne meant the beach wasn’t that far away, just an easy tram ride and you could be standing on the sand, but it wasn’t the same. The water there always felt cold. Here though, it was heaven. I just hoped the waves were a bit kinder at this beach than the one I’d been learning to surf on. Maybe then I’d stand a chance of actually surviving.
Leaving Claire standing slack-jawed on the balcony, I went back inside and unpacked what I’d brought with me. It wasn’t much and it definitely wasn’t enough to impress someone as amazing as Claire, but I just hoped she was one of those ‘it’s the thought that counts’ type of girls. If she wasn’t, I was pretty much fucked.
“What’s all this?” Claire asked as she came back inside as I finished setting the charcuterie board down on the tablecloth I’d laid on the floor.
“I just thought we could hang out. I know it sucks that we don’t have a table or chairs or a couch to sit on, but…I brought cushions. It’s not much. And I didn’t do it…” I was rambling and making a complete tool of myself, but whatever I was, watching the smile creep across Claire’s face made me just want to keep going.
“Seth!”
“Yeah?”
“Stop. It’s perfect.”
“It is?”
Why couldn’t I just believe her and say thank you? Oh yeah, that’s right. Because I’m a tool.
“It is. Now, have you got something to drink to go with this?”
“Absolutely.”
Opening the esky, I pulled out a couple of drink options offering Claire her choice. Handing her the can of Coke, she pushed up on her toes and reached for me. Letting her lead, she plunged her tongue into my mouth controlling the kiss. Here I was thinking she was sweet and innocent when the reality was, she was a deviant in there who I couldn’t wait to have fun with. Maybe I hadn’t completely fucked this up after all.
29
Claire
This guy could not be for real. It just wasn’t possible.
Rookie (Playing The Field Book 2) Page 17
