I have plenty of time to find the right guy though. I’m only twenty-two. Although, let’s be honest here - I’m twenty-two and I’ve never had a serious boyfriend… I really hate that fact, but I try to convince myself it doesn’t matter. I’m only interested in finding my ‘one’ and as they say ‘you have to kiss a lot of toads…’
“Naomi?” Elliot says, his voice laced with concern. The sound of my name snaps me out of my thoughts. Creasing my brow, I look at my forearms, they’re red, but they don’t seem to be blistering.
“I think I’m ok. I just burnt myself on the oven.”
“Let me see,” he says, moving toward me. He places his hands gently on my arm and inspects the reddened area. Admittedly, I tilt my head toward him slightly and inhale. He smells so good, I think I am going straight to Myer to sample all of their aftershaves until I find what he’s wearing. “Hmmm, I think you got off lightly. Keep them under the water though. I’ll go get some burn cream and bandages off Stephanie.”
Ok, so this probably sounds like I’d like to steal Elliot away from Paige. That’s not true. I’d never do something like that. Elliot is just the current standard that I hold all other guys up against. When I first met him, he didn’t try to pick me up and have a holiday fling. He was a little distant, but still polite, and I really liked that about him.
Then Paige came to stay with us, and I could tell straight away that he was interested in her. I wanted to dislike her, because at the time, I was interested in Elliot too. But I couldn’t dislike her. She had this lost puppy quality about her that I couldn’t help but come to like. We became great friends and I even encouraged her to give Elliot a shot.
What I want is a love like theirs. I saw the way he pursued her earnestly. He was so patient and understanding of her, and he loves her fiercely. You can feel it in the air between them. I want that connection with someone. I want my own Elliot – not Paige’s one.
“What’s happened?” Paige asks as she enters the kitchen, followed closely by a two and a half year old Grace.
“She burned herself. I’m just going to get Steph to find out where her first aid stuff is,” Elliot informs her. As he walks past her, he runs his hand lightly over her shoulders. See? That’s what I mean, they are so in love with each other that they just gravitate towards each other when they’re near. It was a simple touch, but it was loving. I dream of a relationship like that. One where you just can’t resist that tingle in your fingertips.
“Jesus Nomes. How did you manage that?” Paige asks, as she moves over to have a look too.
“Just silliness. The oven mitts were wet, so they were getting hot. Then I rushed and stood up too fast, hitting my arms on the top part of the oven.”
“Ouch,” she winces.
“Anyway, enough about my mishap. Tell me about you – what’s new in the Robert’s household?”
A grin spreads across her face and her gaze drops to the floor momentarily. It’s as if she’s trying to hide something. “Things are good. They’re really good.”
“What aren’t you telling me? You’ve got ‘secret’ written all over your face.”
“I do? Well, I’m not supposed to say anything yet. It’s still too early,” she informs me quietly.
I suck in my breath. “You’re expecting?!” I gush. “Were you trying? Or is this a surprise?” I am genuinely excited. I love Grace and Amanda – they’re the sweetest little girls in the world.
She tilts her head slightly, and lifts her shoulder. “Not trying, but not standing in the way either.”
“Well congratulations. I’d hug you, but my arms are all wet.”
“It’s fine. Thank you. We’re really happy about it.”
“I wonder if you’ll have a boy this time,” I speculate.
“Cat’s out of the bag already huh?” Elliot says, as he returns to the kitchen with the first aid supplies.
“She saw right through me,” Paige explains, her mouth curved into a grin. “She always has.”
Handing the supplies to Paige, Elliot grabs a hand towel and passes it to me so I can dry off my arms. Before I know it, Stephanie and Gary are in the kitchen too, and I’m explaining what happened again while Paige sorts out my burns.
“It’s really not that bad. I promise, it’ll all be fine tomorrow,” I assure them.
“I just feel bad,” Stephanie announces. “If I hadn’t been running behind time, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Forget it,” I insist, as a knock sounds at the door. “It’s party time. Besides, once you see what I bought for Mandy you’re going to wish I was hurt worse.”
“Oh no. You didn’t?!”
“I did,” I confirm, my eyes wide with delight.
I enlist the help of Elliot and Gary to come to my car and carry in the rather large gift.
“Oh my god Naomi! Where the hell am I going to put a baby grand piano?” Stephanie moans.
“Wow, where did you get that?” asks Paige, as she laughs at Stephanie’s reaction.
“EBay,” I grin.
“It’s always eBay,” Stephanie sighs.
Amanda and Grace immediately start banging on the keys, sending out a cacophony of jumbled notes and delighted squeals.
I simply smile and say, “Look. She’s a natural.”
As I stand and watch the girls happily playing, other people start arriving and the house fills up rather fast. I don’t pay much attention though, I’m having too much fun with my little protégé. All my life, I dreamt of a music career. But somewhere along the way, I altered my path. Looking back now, I wonder why I gave up. I guess it just stopped being fun.
Now I work in a Sydney night club behind a bar. It’s not a career option. For a long time, I’ve been ignoring the rest of my life and what I want to do with it. But it’s time to figure something out. Everyone around me is getting married and having kids. They’re having careers. I feel like I’m just floating through life, waiting for something to happen. But what? Now, that’s the million dollar question.
Chapter 2
Eventually, the girls start playing with some other children, so I leave them under the watchful eyes of other responsible adults. I then make my way through the party towards Stephanie to see if there’s anything she needs me to do. My focus is so far ahead of me, that I don’t even notice when someone else is trying to get my attention until they’re standing right in front of me.
“Naomi! Oh my god. I haven’t seen you since that massive party we crashed,” Erica says, wrapping her arms around me in an overly friendly gesture.
I’ve had zero contact with her since the end of high school and that party. I shudder every time I think about it. It was the party that sparked the story about me getting trashed and sleeping with two different guys in the same night. Before I’d even woken the story was already in circulation. People who weren’t even at the party were texting me to see if it was true. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed off with my so-called friends. I knew it wasn’t Stephanie who told everyone - she would never do that to me. So, logic says, it had to be Erica or Amy - no one else at the party could have told all my class mates so quickly.
“Tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself?!” she asks, touching my arm lightly as she tilts her ash blonde head, causing her loose curls to graze the top of her bare shoulder. I open my mouth to answer, but she is not interested. She simply opens her blue eyes wide and surges forward with her own news. “I can’t believe how much has happened since we last saw each other. Did you know, Jenny Tyler has already been married and divorced? Twenty-two years old and she already has a divorce under her belt. And I hear that she ran off to America! Rumour has it that she went to Vegas to be a showgirl and she’s met some old rich guy and is about to get married again. I just can’t understand why there are so many girls rushing into this wedding stuff.” She places her hand next to her mouth and leans in close. “No offence to Steph of course. Gary’s a great guy and their baby is just gorgeous. But I couldn’t think
of anything worse than getting married and having kids. We’re so not ready yet. Are we Amy?”
I glance over at Amy. She’s been standing beside Erica sipping on a bottle of beer while half listening and surveying the party. She shakes her brunette head from side to side as she swallows the drink in her mouth. “No way. I’m having too much fun right now.” Suddenly her dark eyes widen as they land upon the face of someone she sees in the crowd. “Oh my god. Who the hell is that?”
Turning my head to look over my shoulder to see who she’s looking at. “That’s David,” I inform her. He’s a friend of Elliot’s and now Gary’s. He’s tall lean, blond, and very taken. He’s married to Elliot’s ex-girlfriend, Katrina. They’re all linked through family or something. It sounds like a complicated story, but somehow they all get along.
“He’s hot. Reminds me a bit of that guy from the Star Wars movies. The Darth Vader dude. What was his name?”
“Hayden Christensen,” Erica offers, leaning in close to Amy as they both stare at David. “He is gorgeous. What’s his story?” they ask me.
“He’s married, and from the looks of it, they’re expecting. That’s his wife there,” I tell them, nodding my head towards the space behind David where Katrina has appeared, a very obvious bump in her midsection protrudes through her form fitting dress.
“Urgh, what a waste,” Amy moans as we watch them walk outside.
“Oh wow. What about him?” Erica asks, as Elliot appears, following them out as he talks animatedly with David. “Forget it. I already see her,” she comments, her mouth turning downwards as she notices his hand reaching out for Paige, who follows along behind him, carrying Grace on her hip.
“Jesus. This party sucks. Every hot guy is taken,” Amy grumbles, causing a burst of laughter to escape from my chest.
“What did you expect? It’s a one-year-old’s birthday party,” I point out.
“Still, there’s got to be something for the single girls to do besides drink,” she replies.
“Speaking of fun and hot guys, you should come out with us later. We’re going to see a band that we think you’ll find really interesting,” Erica tells me, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Will she?” says Amy, her snub nose creasing in the middle as she thinks. “Why? Does she know… Oh my god. Yes! You have to come. You will die when you see who’s playing!”
“Why? Who is it?” I ask, my interest now piqued.
“Just meet us at The Metro at eight o’clock. We’ll wait out front for you,” Erica says.
“Naomi,” Stephanie calls to me from across the patio. I turn my head toward my name and see her incline her head toward the house. She obviously needs my help.
“I need to go,” I tell them.
“That’s cool. We’re going to get out of here anyway,” Amy says, her voice sounding flat. I have no idea why she would have thought she’d be able to pick up here.
“Just promise us you’ll come,” Erica presses as I turn to leave.
“Sure. I’ll go.” I concede, not feeling at all certain that I’d actually go through with my word.
I make my way back into the house and spend the rest of the party being the dutiful godmother and best friend, while avoiding the questions of older people who want to know which child is mine. Like I’ve said, I love Stephanie and Gary, I love their daughter Mandy. But I feel like I’m the only single person left in a group of married couples, and at times I feel really left out.
By the time the party is over, I’ve had enough of watching happy couples brag about their children. Going out to see a band with Amy and Erica seems like the perfect outing to make me feel like me again. I’ve been ignoring my life for ages. Time to go and have some fun again.
Chapter 3
The summer dress I’m wearing isn’t really appropriate for The Metro, so I go home and get changed into some more gig appropriate clothing. The first thing I do is remove the bandages on my arm. The burns were so minor, that I don’t even think they needed first aid. But that’s what I get for hanging around with a bunch of young parents – coddled.
After taking a quick shower, I squeeze myself into a form fitting royal blue dress that hits about mid-thigh, add a set of knee high, chunky black boots and my cropped leather jacket, and I feel sufficiently hotted up to go and watch a band and have some fun with Erica and Amy.
As I look in the mirror to fix my shoulder length blonde hair, I simply run a hair brush through it and darken my makeup slightly. Running the eyeliner pencil around my blue eyes, I think about the last time I partied with those two and pause as I remember. Maybe this is a bad idea? I think to myself, studying my reflection as I war with my decision.
Eventually I continue putting my makeup on, telling myself that I’m older now and haven’t been that stupid since that night. I’m sure I’ll be fine.
Calling a cab, I arrive at the club to find them both waiting out front for me, wearing tiny scraps of material that make my own dress look modest in comparison.
“You came,” Erica says the moment I step onto the curb. “Amy tried to tell me you wouldn’t show. But I had faith.”
“Fuck off Erica. I just thought she didn’t seem that interested. I didn’t say we should go inside without waiting.”
“Don’t worry about it. Truthfully though, I wasn’t sure if I was coming. But after spending a day with married couples and their kids, I think I needed to get out and be a single girl,” I explain.
“Well, you’re going to be glad you came. Check out the poster,” Erica says, drawing my attention to the poster advertising the band playing tonight.
“Eskimo Joe?” I ask confused. “I didn’t realise you two were such big fans.” I mean, I like Eskimo Joe and all, but I’m not about to go all fangirl over them.
“No, you dope. The supporting band. We’re here to see them,” Erica points out.
I look closer and see that the supporting act is a band called ‘Matiari’.
“I’m sorry. I have no idea who ‘Matiari’ are,” I inform them, regretting all the time I’ve spent in night clubs and pubs listening to crappy dance music.
“Oh, you will,” Amy says as she pulls me through the doors.
We make our way inside and grab a drink from the bar while we wait for the show to start.
“So what kind of band is this ‘Matiari’?” I ask Amy.
“Oh they’re kind of indie folk rock – very cool. You’ll love them.”
As the tech hand finishes the on stage sound check, the lights start to dim, and we make our way out to the floor, pushing our way through the crowd until we’re right up against the stage. Amy and Erica insist that it’s the only place to be, and I wonder if we’re going to get flicked with sweat or get a cramp in our necks from being so close.
It’s not long before the band walks onto the stage and the crowd whoops as we watch them move about in the dim light, getting themselves into position and double checking their instruments.
“Thank you all for coming early to see us.” The smooth voice of the band’s front man filters through the speakers as the lights are trained on the stage. His light brown hair has fallen forward and covers most of his face. Although, his voice sounds so familiar to me. “This first song is called ‘Fragile’. It’s about those relationships you want, but can’t seem to make work.”
He flicks his head back as he starts to strum the beginning notes on his guitar, causing his hair to fall back from his face, revealing a person that makes my heart stop.
“Marcus,” I breathe out, staring up at him as he starts singing in that beautiful smooth voice of his.
“And Theo,” Amy informs me, indicating the drummer. “His brother. Remember him?”
“I didn’t even know Marcus had a brother,” I yell at her over the music, my eyes wide as I focus on the man before me.
“Really?” she replies, scrunching up her face.
I bounce my shoulders in confirmation as my attention is pulled to the stage. I don’t kno
w whether I feel embarrassed or happy that I’m seeing him again. Because let’s face it – your first big crush never really goes away, and it’s so rare that they stay looking as beautiful as Marcus Bailey does. It’s like a day hasn’t passed. Besides his hair being longer, he’s exactly the same. The same boyish good looks, the same dimples when he smiles.
I feel instantly transported back to high school watching him. And instantly transported back to the morning after we… Oh god. I hope he doesn’t see me. I take a step back and try to melt into the crowd, but it’s too thick, and I’m bustled forward, pressed firmly up against the stage. Right at his feet.
Chapter 4
Marcus
“Why did you sing your song to my heart?
When you knew we were fragile,
Right from the start.”
I play the last notes of the song and open my eyes, nodding my head as I thank the audience while they cheer and clap for us. I scan the faces in the crowd in front of me, and frown slightly when I see Erica and Amy standing there. They’ve seen this show so many times that they usually just wait backstage for the party that comes later. Erica grins at me and nods her head towards the blonde next to her. She looks really familiar and the moment we lock eyes, I remember who she is.
Naomi, a girl I used to flirt uncontrollably with in high school. I grin broadly. I haven’t seen her for years – not since that drunken party we were all at. We had an interesting night together after years of teasing each other and after she left, she vanished. I haven’t seen her since.
My eyes drag over her body - I didn’t think it was possible, but she’s even hotter now than she was back then. She smiles back briefly, and I look over at Amy, tilting my head toward the backstage entrance. She nods and I grin again, now looking forward to the show finishing.
A Beautiful Melody Page 2
