Spin the Bottle

by T L Osborn

  However, what she doesn’t know is that tomorrow, before work, I’m going to stake my claim on her and go tell Kyle exactly how I feel about their past.

  Sasha had her final day at work yesterday and is now on two weeks’ holiday leave, so she’s having girls night with Riley and Aria, then staying there. I have from Monday 2 am off work right through until next Monday as we leave for Sydney on Tuesday morning at 6 am. Dumbass time to fly but at least I’ll already be awake and will just sleep on the plane.

  I lay awake as Sasha drifts off to sleep again, the occasional sniffle coming from her. I however, don’t go back to sleep easily as I mull over exactly what I’m going to say to Kyle.

  When we wake in the morning, she looks like she hasn’t slept at all.

  “What’s on the agenda for today?” she asks as she draws on my chest with her fingertips.

  “Not much. Poker with Simon, Jake and James while you ladies sit chit-chatting. I might pack my bag for our trip because I won’t get time to do it on Monday. I’ve got to hit the gym at some point but I’ll do that later today. Why? Are we doing something?” I ask.

  “I thought we could go out to lunch.”

  “Sure thing. I start at 2 pm, so it’ll have to be an early lunch.”

  I haven’t told her of my plans to speak with Kyle. She’ll protest and I need to do this man-to-man.

  “Getting more bulky, huh?” She giggles, placing kisses on my bicep.

  I grin. “My body doesn’t look this great on its own and if you keep making lemon meringue pies I’ll go from abs to flabs in seconds.”

  “Well, stop eating so much.” She laughs.

  “Can’t help it. You’re an awesome baker.”

  She gets out of bed and throws the shirt of mine she’d been wearing last night on and makes her way towards the bathroom. I lay, watching her and she beckons me to follow her into the shower.

  Throwing the blankets off myself I follow her.

  Once we’ve showered, dressed and are sitting down having a coffee, Jake joins us in the kitchen.

  “Are you working tonight?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “Nope. I’m planning on beating you at poker.”

  He chuckles. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “I don’t try, I succeed.” Sasha snorts with laughter into her drink as Jake and I both turn to look at her. “Did you turn that into a dirty thought?”

  “Um…maybe?” Jake bursts into laughter. “I should head home. I’ve got a dessert to make.” She drains her drink, places her cup into the sink and gives me a kiss. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” I spin around and cup her face in my hands and press my lips to hers, deepening the kiss as if I’m not going to see her for days. She breaks the kiss and smiles at me. “I-I really need to go. Can’t wait to see you and don’t forget to bring a salad.” She then exits the house.

  Fuck, I forgot about the salad.

  “You forgot about the salad, didn’t you?” Jake asks as the door closes.

  I drain my coffee cup, then grab my keys and cell phone.

  “Yeah, can you take care of it? I have somewhere to be.”

  “Where are you going?” he asks.

  “Never mind.” I exit the house and get into my Ute. Time to face the dickhead himself and tell him, once and for all, that Sasha is mine.

  Along the drive to Kyle’s place, I decide I want to do something sweet for Sasha, like buy her some flowers or chocolate, but what kind does she like? From memory, she’s never been a chocolate loving girl but give her a packet of RJ’s Liquorice Allsorts and she’d be putty in my hands.

  My thoughts are interrupted when I pull up outside my destination. I’m rather surprised to find someone is home and I’m hoping it’s Kyle.

  Strolling up to the front door, I knock and only wait a few moments before he comes out.

  “What the fuck do you want? I’ve already had enough police harassment this week.”

  “I’m not here as a cop.”

  “You sure look like a fucking pig.”

  “I’m going to ignore that. I’m here to tell you to stay the fuck away from Sasha. She broke off the relationship. Just give her money back, then fuck off.”

  He smirks at me and bulks his chest up, trying to be the alpha in the situation. “God, you’re dumber than you look. She’s taking you for a fool. Soon enough, she’ll see that she made a mistake by cheating on me and come crawling back. I can provide the world for her, can you?”

  “She didn’t cheat, she wouldn’t. I bet you were the one screwing around on her and the only reason you can’t leave her alone is because you’re the one who wants her back. You realised what you lost.”

  “Yes, I was angry when we split. I gave her everything and she threw it away for you. I couldn’t understand why. Did I throw a rock through your window, no I didn’t. I don’t even know or fucking care where you live.” He scowls but his eyes show sincerity. “Believe it or not, it killed me when I found out she was still holding on to you like some weird trophy. You know something, you can keep her and I do hope you’re both happy together. I know I should’ve treated her better but that doesn’t give you the right to turn up on my doorstep and harass me. I only hope you take care of her. Now, get the fuck off my property before I have a lawsuit taken up against you for police brutality.”

  With that, he shuts the door in my face and I make my way back down to the car. I take two things away from that meeting. One: he’s telling the truth about the rock, and two: I don’t know Sasha like I think I do. Like her, I’m hanging on to the past, remembering the teenage girl she was and not knowing the woman she is now.

  Suddenly, an idea strikes me; a way of getting to know the adult us in a unique way.

  The very way we met—Spin the Bottle.

  By the end of the trip to Australia, I’m going to know all there is to know about my angel.

  Sasha

  “Babe, have you seen the charger for my Kindle?” I ask Toby as I enter my room, stopping abruptly as I see he’s dressing for work.

  I’ll never stop wanting to see him looking all sexy as sin in his uniform.

  “Um, yeah, you just literally packed it into the bag,” he chuckles.

  “Oh, so I did.” I laugh. Toby doesn’t chuckle at my mistake as he usually would. “Okay, what’s going on?” I ask, sitting on the bed.

  “Nothing.”

  “Mmm-hmm. Is it work? Is it me? Am I too pushy?” I ask.

  He looks at me and my heart sinks. He crosses the room and sits on the bed beside me.

  “It’s not you. How can you think that?”

  “Because you’ve been very quiet with me; not as talkative or joking as normal.” He inhales and I know he’s hiding something from me. “So tell me, what’s going on?”

  He inhales. “Okay. I’ve been wondering how to tell you, but I went to see Kyle.”

  “You what? Why?”

  “Because I’m worried about you and I think he needed to know exactly what he’s doing to us. You’re nightmares are getting worse, you’re on edge, always looking over your shoulder and I just couldn’t take it anymore. It scares me. I worry every night I have to work and leave you alone.”

  I stand up and cross the room, anger boiling within me. “Toby, I don’t know why you did that. I’m fine.”

  His arms wrap around me and I spin around. “Then why are you shaking right now?”

  “Because I’m mad at you. I don’t need you to be some knight in shining armour. I walked out on him remember? Did you even think for a moment you could’ve lost your job?”

  “I didn’t go in my uniform.”

  I frown at him. “Not my point. You should’ve told me you were thinking about doing it. I’d like to have come with you so we could stand together. Otherwise, it looked like you were sticking up for me.”

  He closes his eyes and inhales. “I hadn’t thought about it that way. I’m sorry, you’re right I should’ve taken you with me. I just wanted to help.”


  “It’s one of the many things I love about you; that you care so much, but next time take me with you. Please.”

  “Always,” he whispers before pressing his lips to mine. “God! I really wished I’d taken tonight off work.”

  “We have an entire week of fun ahead of us. No work, all play.”

  He winks at me. “All play? Does that mean I get to keep you naked for the entire week because that will make our trip to Sydney much more fun.”

  Sydney? He’s taking me to Australia.

  “We’re going to Sydney?” I blink at him.

  “Oh crap! Can you pretend you never heard that?”

  “Not a chance. I can’t believe we’re going to Sydney. Now I have to completely change my suitcase because we’re going shopping.”

  He chuckles. “There’s lots to do in Sydney and we’re going to Paddy’s Market; it’s awesome and full of shops. I have a few things planned but I really wanted it to be a surprise until tomorrow.”

  “Well, it’s not now, so you had better get your butt to work because the sooner you get home, the sooner we leave.”

  “About that. I’ve asked James to drive you into the station tomorrow, so all you need to bring is your bag, and I wouldn’t bother packing toiletries and stuff. We can hit a supermarket when we get there. Also, we’re staying somewhere really nice.”

  “Are we now? Best I pack something sexy to wear then.”

  “You better. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He walks away from me, grabs his phone and wallet from my bedside cabinet and turns to look at me. I blow him a kiss, which he pretends to catch before exiting the room.

  I walk over to my suitcase and remove a whole bunch of clothes. I’m going shopping in Sydney and I’m so glad I have some savings. I also pack a few sexy items to wear and nightdresses, though I’m pretty sure that everything will be ripped off me or I’ll just be naked. I certainly don’t mind being naked when it’s with my man.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sasha

  Before I know it, I’m being wakened by my alarm at stupid o’clock in the morning. I hit the snooze button just so I can sleep for a few moments longer when it dawns on me that today’s the day that Toby and I fly to Sydney.

  I still can’t believe he’s taking me away to Australia for a holiday. I’d imagined that he’d be taking me up North somewhere or perhaps flying down South somewhere, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he’d take me to another country.

  Getting out of bed with a spring in my step, I head for the shower. Turning on the water, I wait for it to heat up and get in. Rinsing myself down, I spot Toby’s shower gel that he has stashed here and I inhale it. I miss him when he’s not here, but just smelling his scent makes me feel safe.

  Quickly washing myself down, I dry and get out.

  Once dressed, I double-check my suitcase before zipping it up and wheeling it out to the hall. I then head into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine.

  As I’m grabbing a mug down from the cupboard I hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs—more than one pair. Damn it, I hope I didn’t wake them both up when I took my shower.

  “Someone is in a very good mood for this time of the morning,” Riley says as she enters the kitchen and grabs two mugs down for her and James.

  “She should be. Her man is whisking her off on a week long holiday,” James says.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you guys. I did try to be quiet.”

  “Nope, you didn’t. Posy did,” Riley says.

  “You know I can grab a taxi to Toby’s work if you guys want to go back to bed. It’s no trouble for me.”

  “Nonsense Sasha. I told Toby I’d happily take you in so long as he returns the favour when Riley and I head away on our honeymoon in a few months time.”

  “Have you guys set a date for the big day then? If there’s anything I can do to help, like decorations and stuff, let me know. You’ve been so great to me.”

  Riley smiles. “You could say that. Yeah, I’ll get your help with the decorations and the favours for our engagement party.”

  “Could you make a few lemon meringue pies too?” James chimes in.

  “Done and dusted.” They smile between them and I know they’ve got something planned, but it’s not my place to ask, so I’m leaving it alone. I finish making my coffee, then Riley steps into my place.

  “Go take a seat on the couch.”

  “Are you two going to tell me when the big date is?”

  “If all goes well, we’ve picked a date in November,” James says.

  “Great time of year to hold a wedding. I’ll make sure I’m as available as I can be to help with favours and such. Are you doing the hen’s and stag do?” I ask.

  Riley shakes her head. “Nah, we’re going to have a party instead and invite all our friends to celebrate. James and I aren’t traditional like that, so we kinda just want to save as much money for our honeymoon as we can.”

  “Fair enough, I understand that.”

  We finish our drinks and James loads my bags into the car.

  “Have an awesome trip and tell me everything when you come home,” Riley says, giving me a hug.

  “I will, I promise.” With one last squeeze, I join James in his car and we head off to Toby’s work.

  James puts on some music for the drive and I’m surprised because it’s Enrique Iglesias. I never picked him for a Spanish fan.

  “So how many pies am I making and when will you need them by?” I ask him, starting up a conversation.

  “Um, I’ll get back to you on that once we’ve sorted a few other things out.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Are you excited to be going to–” James starts, then pauses.

  “It’s okay, I know I’m going to Sydney. Toby told me last night, or rather let it slip.”

  “Awesome. I tell you, it’s been hard keeping it a secret. Personally, I love Sydney and I hope to take Riley there some day, but her dream honeymoon destination is the Caribbean so I’ve booked us a cruise around there with a stop in Florida and Las Vegas along the way.”

  “She’ll love it.”

  “I hope so. She knows about the cruise but not the other stuff as of yet.”

  “She will, I know it. Seeing you two so much in love gives me hope for the future with Toby. Once he was my happily ever after, but we’ve changed so much over the last fourteen years that it all feels so new.”

  He smiles. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Riley. She’s brought so much good into my life where there was so much bad. I see, when Toby looks at you, that he’s completely besotted. Even before you two got together, the way he looked at you was as if there was no other woman in the room. Honestly Sasha, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  I hope James is right because once I fully give my heart to Toby again I can only hope he doesn’t break it. I couldn’t take him doing it again.

  Toby

  James parks the car up down the road from the station and they both get out. I can’t help but feel a little jealous that she was alone with him in the vehicle. I know I’m being stupid and that she only has eyes for me, but after the way things have been with Kyle, I’m just not so trusting of other men. James helps by grabbing Sasha’s bag.

  “Thanks for doing this for us,” I say.

  “No worries. Like I said, you’ll repay the favour. Have a great trip guys,” he says as he climbs into his car and heads away.

  “Where are you parked?” Sasha asks.

  “The parking building up the road,” I reply, taking her suitcase. “Did you have a good sleep?”

  “Not really; you weren’t beside me, but I should be able to get some sleep on the plane, right?” she asks.

  “You sure can.” I slide my arm around her waist and pull her to me, placing a kiss on her forehead as we make our way to my car.

  Our flight to Sydney is uneventful. Sasha and I dozed for a bit, ate the meals I paid for, and the
n watched TV, or in my case, a movie. In no time at all, we arrived, went through customs, grabbed our bags and headed to the hotel.

  However, when we arrived, we are unable to check in, so I decide that we’ll explore the city, go to the Aquarium with a stop at Paddy’s Market along the way. If Sasha wants to go to Paddy’s Market every day, I really don’t mind, I just want her to enjoy this time away.

  “So, Mister Tour Guide, where are we headed to first?” Sasha asks as we make our way through the city.

  “We’re heading to Paddy’s Market, then getting some lunch, then the Aquarium I bought flexi tickets for so we could go any day, and then, I thought we could find a supermarket to grab some stuff. Then, onto the hotel where I’m going to run you a bath, if there is one, and you can relax.”

  “Oh, sounds romantic.”

  I chuckle. “I just want you to enjoy this trip and not feel so scared.”

  She inhales. “You’re right. So tell me why do you like Sydney so much?”

  “It was the first city I visited. It has so much to offer. I loved this place when I came with Steph and Aria.”

  “You came with Steph and Aria?”

  “I sure did. There was no way in hell I was letting two eighteen-year-olds out alone in a strange city, though Aria made me swear to stay at least a metre away from them.”

  “She just wanted to feel independent.”

  We arrive at Paddy’s market and I’m surprised it’s still as full as it was when I was last here with Aria and Steph. They went nuts here, buying all sorts of stuff, and I can only imagine Sasha might just do the same.

  “Babe, this place is amazing; I want to see it all,” Sasha says to me as we walk around a few stalls.

  “Just remember to look at everything first as some stalls have the same stuff but at cheaper prices. If there is something you really like, we will just buy it,” I suggest.

  We wander around a few places and Sasha buys some stuff, but the only place she takes a real shining to is a jewellery stall that sells koala necklaces with, well I’d call them fake diamonds, but I’m sure they have a name for them. Each koala has different coloured ears.