Phase (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #1)

by Michelle Irwin

  “But I have a visitor here for a sleepover and I can’t be too long, so let’s just settle for the photos, shall we?”

  I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent the images to my computer.

  Without sending them to him just yet, I started looking through them. “Damn, that one’s hot.” I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, making sure I still had his attention. “Oh, wow, would you look at my tits in that one.”

  He groaned. “The suspense is killing me here, li’l miss.”

  “You promise you won’t share them with anyone? It’s showing a great degree of faith to send these to you. They’d be worth a fortune to the Aussie tabloids.”

  “Heh, trust me, darlin’, no eyes will see them but mine.”

  “Okay good. What do you think of this one?” I sent him one of the ones from the bottom angle, where my tits were practically leaping out of my bra.

  His smile grew as he opened the file and waited for the download, and then his jaw fell slack. “Dang.” He shifted in his seat.

  Pride filled me that I was able to draw such a reaction from him.

  “Or this one?”

  He gave a low whistle as his eyes roamed the picture.

  “You like that one?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He looked back at me. “I mean, the bike turned out real nice, didn’t it?”

  “Sure, the bike.”

  “Yep, it’s definitely the bike that gets my attention.”

  “And without looking at it again, can you tell me what colour the bike is?” I indicated with my fingers that he should keep his eyes focused on me so he didn’t cheat.

  “Seafoam,” he muttered.

  “Huh?”

  “That’s all I see when I look at that picture, darlin’, your pretty seafoam eyes. And that make-up ya have on just makes those babies pop.”

  “You really like my eyes, don’t you?”

  “I have very good memories of your eyes. They were the first thing I noticed. They were also one of the last things I saw. Then there was that other memory ya gave me.” He blushed.

  “I wish you were here,” I said. “The things I’d do to you. The things I’d beg you to do to me.”

  “You’re gonna make me late for work again, aren’t ya?”

  Taking a deep breath, I lifted my shirt off over my head. “Would it be worth it?”

  A gasp left his lips as my move caught him off guard. “Sweet Jesus, darlin’.”

  I glanced down at my bra before looking at him through my lashes. “You like?”

  “What’s not to like?”

  “I dunno.” I tugged on one of the straps. “I mean, you could take exception to the bra?”

  “Isn’t that the same one in the photos?”

  A grin crossed my lips. “You noticed that did you?”

  “There ain’t much that escapes my attention.”

  “Except the colour of the bike,” I said with a laugh.

  “Maybe I shoulda said there ain’t much that escapes my attention when it comes to you.”

  “So, it wouldn’t escape your attention if I did this?” I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra.

  “No, li’l lady, I can honestly say that wouldn’t escape my attention.” He sat forward and his tongue slicked over his lips.

  “What about this?” I slid the straps off my arms and crossed my arms over my chest. My breath was coming hard and fast at the thought of the intimacy of getting nude in front of him. Somehow, even though he’d seen me naked before, stripping for him in front of the camera felt like baring my soul.

  His gaze trailed over my bare chest. “You’re givin’ me plenty to pay attention to, that’s for sure.”

  With a shy smile playing on my lips, and my heart pounding so fast it was ridiculous, I uncrossed my arms. “Like this?”

  “Lord help me, darlin’, I—” A female voice called his name in the background. Beau frowned and then turned away from the camera. “Dang it, I gotta go.”

  The call disconnected a second later before I’d even had a chance to say goodbye. I frowned. “Umm, bye then I guess.”

  My cheeks burned as I thought about how dismissive he’d been as he left me. It was the second time he’d just disappeared on me. And who was the girl?

  I slipped my clothes back on and went to find Angel. When I found her in conversation with Mum and Dad, I asked if she wanted to head back out. She took one look at me and agreed.

  It was only when we arrived back at the pub that I spilled about what had happened.

  “Maybe he was just running late for work?” Angel offered as a reason for his fast dismissal.

  “Maybe. But who was the girl?”

  “An assistant?”

  I hummed with uncertainty.

  “Of all people, you know how easily things can be misinterpreted. Just look at your parents. If your mum hadn’t trusted your dad, how different would things be now?”

  “I guess. It’s just hard. I mean, what if—”

  She rolled her eyes. “Just leave it for tonight, and ask him when you speak to him next.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I know I am; now let’s go dance.”

  I let her lead me out onto the dance floor where we were soon surrounded by a throng of people. The perfect place to let my worries go and just relax. We stayed out late and partied hard. Well, Angel partied and drank while I kept a close eye on her. At least until the paps turned up and snapped photos of Angel and me dancing in a throng of guys. No doubt my face would be all over the tabloids accompanied by “Party girl takes after her daddy” or some similar headline.

  Just before I went to bed early the next morning, after riding home with a drunk chick on the back of my bike, I checked my phone and found a text from Beau. I came back on as soon as I could and you were gone. Hope you had a good night’s sleep.

  At least he hadn’t totally forgotten me. Got lonely and headed for a night out with a friend. Just going to bed now.

  It took almost five minutes for the next message to come through. Okay, sleep tight, darlin’, talk soon.

  “MY MOUTH TASTES like arse,” Angel moaned from the trundle bed we’d rolled out before she collapsed the night before.

  “But whose arse?” I quipped as I rolled over to get a better look at her. It was still fairly early in the morning—long sleep-ins were an impossibility with my family regardless of the time we’d gone to bed—but I felt pretty good. Better than Angel did at least, I was certain.

  She groaned and threw her pillow at me.

  I rolled off my bed, landing on all fours over her.

  Another groan escaped from under the blankets.

  “Are you not feeling well, my angel?” I asked, using a voice a little louder than necessary just to bug her.

  “Go away.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head against what I thought was her chest. “Do you want me to get you some breakfast? A nice big plate of bacon and eggs?”

  She groaned again and gagged a little. “Ugh, fuck off, Pheebs.”

  Sitting up, I drew the blanket down just enough to see her face. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

  “How about a giant coffee?” I offered, a genuine offer this time and not just trying to shit-stir her.

  Her eyes cracked open and she gave me a tired grin. “Now you’re talking.”

  “Okay.” I leaned back down and held her again. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Instead of being able to bring Angel back her coffee, I was cornered by Dad in the kitchen.

  “Angel had some interesting ideas she wanted to talk to us about last night,” he said. The way his arms crossed his chest and his jaw was set, it was clear he wasn’t entirely happy about what she’d discussed, or the fact that he needed to talk to me about it.

  I swallowed around the rising dread in my throat. “Okay?”

  “She seems to think we’re being monsters keeping you away from your one true love.” He raised his brow at
me. “She said we need to be doing more for you. That we should be doing all that we can to help you at least explore where it could go.”

  My heart pounded in my chest as I set her coffee down on the bench.

  Meddling cow, I thought, but I couldn’t really be angry with her. She only had my best interest at heart.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think I would have liked it if she’d discussed it with me before discussing it with you.”

  Dad’s lips quirked with amusement. “We all have our interfering angels in our lives. Mine’s Edie. Is she right though?”

  I shrugged.

  “I’ve noticed a change in you since you’ve come home from your holiday, Pheebs. I may just be your dad, but I’m not so unobservant that I can’t tell this boy has some sort of hold over you.”

  “A little.”

  “Does he deserve it?”

  “W—what do you mean?”

  “I know a thing or two about guys willing to string girls along.” He frowned, no doubt recalling his own past. There was a time he was the sort of guy he’d murder if they dared come within fifteen feet of me. “The type who will do or say anything and everything to get a girl into bed. Is that the sort of guy he is, or is he one of the good ones?”

  I leaned back against the counter and considered it as best as I could. “That’s the problem,” I admitted after a moment. “I don’t know. I mean, how can you tell after a couple of weeks?”

  “I think you can get an idea, and then you have to go off what your gut is telling you.”

  Angel came into the kitchen, pulling her hair into a messy topknot as she walked. “My gut’s telling me I need coffee.”

  “Rough night?” Dad asked.

  “Too many cocktails,” I said, nudging her hip before passing her the coffee I’d made before Dad had waylaid me.

  She climbed up onto the bench and cradled the mug in her hands. “So what are you two talking about?” she asked after taking a sip. “And where’s everyone else?”

  “Brock went to a friend’s house and Lys took Nikki, Parker, and Beth out for a walk,” Dad said. “And we were talking about some of the points you raised last night.”

  She had the decency to look embarrassed about butting into my life.

  “How about we take this convo somewhere more comfortable?” Dad suggested.

  After shooting daggers at Angel once again, I nodded and followed him to the table as Angel disappeared back into my room to give us some space.

  For the next half hour, we talked about Beau, about what possibility there was for a future. Dad was surprisingly level-headed about it. More than I would have guessed he could be.

  “If distance and everything you’ve talked about wasn’t an issue, what would you want?” Dad asked.

  I didn’t want to break Dad’s heart, but there was only one answer. “I’d want to know what’s possible. I’d want to know whether what I feel is real. Whether it can last.”

  “What if it’s not and it doesn’t?”

  “That’s what scares me,” I admitted. “You and Mum, you’re perfect for each other. And I know that road hasn’t always been easy, but it was real. What if I find out that I feel all this, but it means nothing?”

  Dad nodded thoughtfully.

  “But it scares me more to think this could be something, and I might walk away from it because of a few inconveniences.”

  “The proper thing for me to say as a parent is probably to point out that you’re young, to say that it can’t be real because you can’t possibly know what you want at eighteen, and that you’ll feel this way for someone else.” Dad grinned and his eyes sparkled. “But I’ve never really been a proper parent, and I knew what I wanted at seventeen. I just wish I hadn’t been so afraid of it.”

  “What I feel is terrifying.”

  “Baby girl, only you can know whether it’s worth it. If you think that this is worth pursuing, then what can I say other than how can we help?”

  “What?” I couldn’t fight the grin that twisted my lips. “Really?”

  He leaned forward and took my face in his hands. “As much as it pains me to admit it, you’re not my little girl anymore. You don’t even need our permission to do this if it’s what you want. But I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret later. That’s why your mum and I have agreed that we’re willing to do what we can to help you. For years, we’ve been talking about ways to expand Emmanuel—”

  “No way!” I cut him off, seeing exactly where he was going. “You’re going to find a way for me to race over there, aren’t you?” The tone of my voice pitched higher and higher with each word. It took everything in me not to jump from the seat and do a celebratory dance.

  “All I ask is some patience while we get it organised.”

  “So no skipping the country to elope,” I teased.

  “That’s exactly what your mother and I are trying to avoid by supporting this.”

  My jaw fell slack. Did they really think I would do that? “I—I wasn’t really going to.”

  Dad stood and ruffled my hair. “I know, but we didn’t want you to get desperate and think it was your only option. We’ll talk more about it once we’ve done some research. We just wanted to find out if you’d be amenable before we started any investigations.”

  I jumped up as well and threw my arms around his neck. “I’m amenable. So damn amenable.” It was only after the words left my mouth that I frowned and sank back into my seat. “But that still means leaving all of you.”

  Dad cupped my cheek. “I trust you to stay in contact, sweetheart. It’s the hardest thing I’ll have to do, but I need to let you go. I won’t let your family be the reason you didn’t get to follow your heart. We’ll always be here for you, and I know you know that.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.” I squeezed him a little tighter.

  When I made my way back to my room, I found Angel playing on my computer.

  “Thank you for your interference, you meddling bitch,” I teased as I walked up behind her and started rubbing her shoulders.

  “Did he go psycho on you?” She tipped her head forward as my fingers worked their magic.

  “Actually, no. Surprisingly, he was actually really supportive. I don’t know what you said to him and Mum, but they’re going to look into getting me into a stock car.”

  “That’s exciting.”

  “I know.”

  “And you’re sure you want to do this?”

  I paused while I thought about her question. “I think I’ll regret it more if I don’t.”

  “So when are you going to tell lover boy?” Her breathing sped and she leaned back into my touch.

  My fingers continued to work her shoulders while my mind turned over the question. “I don’t know if I should until I know for sure what’s happening. I mean, I couldn’t imagine the disappointment I’d feel if he told me he was coming to visit me and then didn’t. Or couldn’t.”

  “Yeah, I get that. Just make sure you keep him interested.” She winked.

  “I’m pretty sure those photos you took will go some way toward that goal.”

  She spun around to face me. “Ha, yeah, they’d keep anyone with a pulse interested.”

  “Maybe we can do some more?” I suggested. “Maybe even a few slightly more risqué ones.”

  “Name the time and place, and I’m there.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

  BY THE TIME October rolled around, I physically ached with my need to see Beau again. And yet, it was more impossible than ever to talk to him.

  It was crazy how deeply he’d been able to bury himself in my mind in just the few weeks we’d been together. Now, months later, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Because of the enduros, the planning and conference calls involved in trying to secure a place on the stock car track, and the logistics of my family around that time of the year anyway, Skype conversations with Beau were almost non-existent. We existed as a couple solely via text messages and increasin
gly risqué photos.

  At least from my side.

  I still hadn’t been able to get anything more from him than a few photos of his smile.

  To try to soothe the burn of desire, I’d taken to listening to all of the songs he’d introduced me to on repeat. If Mum and Dad thought it odd that the sounds of country rock were coming from my room rather than my usual emo music, they didn’t say anything.

  During the precious few moments we had been able to speak, I’d hinted that I hoped for a change the following year. He’d asked for more details, but I’d played coy, telling him that I was excited for a new challenge. I’d taken the opportunity to push things a little further each call, getting as far as letting my fingers explore while he watched and directed my touch. Still, it was never enough.

  Finally, fresh home after Bathurst weekend, where I’d had my first ever win in a ProV8—even if it was only as a co-driver—I was able to Skype him for the first time in over a month. I just had to put in some face time with my family, including Max, who was back up in our house for a few weeks while his parents dealt with the fallout of their first Bathurst as team owners.

  Because Mum had been at home with the rest of the kids during the race, she hadn’t seen Max until we walked in the door when we got back home.

  “God, Max, you’ve grown about a foot since you were here two months ago,” Mum said, pinching his cheek. She wasn’t wrong. With the new inches he’d grown, he was the same height as me.

  It was too much to hope that his sudden growth spurt and new baritone voice had come with added maturity. Based on his behaviour on the flight home, I would say that wasn’t the case. I’d caught him openly staring at my body no less than four times. Each time, he’d flushed when caught and spun away from me, only to gravitate back a few moments later.

  “Must be all the veggies, right, Mrs. R?” he quipped with an easy smile and a flash of his baby blues. The truth was, he was cute enough for his age. He’d definitely inherited his dad’s looks and charm. Why he was still obsessed with me when he could probably have his pick of eighth graders at his school, I’d never know.