“Cheeky.” She shook her head and dumped the bag on the bench. “Where’s everyone?”
Juliet jumped out of her seat, and ran to her, hugging their mother around her waist. “Chazzy is telling off Sledge.”
Their mother returned the hug. She was thirty-three, but appeared as though she was in her mid-twenties, which had gotten her mistaken for Ash’s older sister more than once, their wavy black hair and similar features making them look alike.
Juliet peered up at her. “Sledge kicked me, and at school he stole my ball, then told everyone I pick my nose. Then, then he told me that Nike Daniels wanted me to kiss him.”
“Oh, baby, you didn’t go up to Nike again?”
Juliet’s bottom lip quivered. “I asked him if he wanted to kiss me. He pushed me over and called me an ugly butt face.”
“You’re lovely looking, and I told ja to stop goin’ near Nike.”
“But I like him,” Juliet whined.
“You shouldn’t, he’s a naughty li’l boy.” She looked over at Ash. “And talking of naughty boys, where’s Dante?”
Ash picked up a chip. “Pro’bly with his mates.”
“More likely causing trouble, he knows he has to be home by six.”
Ash shrugged, not really caring.
Chaz walked into the dining-room. “Natasha, why’re you home so early?”
She smiled and went over to hug him. “I was sick of missing dinner with my family, so I got someone to cover my shift.”
“But, we need the money.”
“I needa be with my family more, so I got you an interview for the souvenir shop across from the gallery.”
He grimaced. “But what about the kids? I needa be home to look after them.”
Ash’s mother let go of Chaz, her expression annoyed. “I should be doin’ that, not you.”
“But I wanna do it.”
“And I don’t? They’re my kids.”
“I married you; therefore they’re mine too.”
“I’m sorry, Chaz, it’s not the same.”
“What? I don’t count, cos I didn’t raise them?”
“It’s not like that. My mother participated in my life when I was li’l, and I want to do the same for my kids, not be the parent that’s never around. I used to do that before you lost your job, now I barely see them. I’ve had enough, I can’t keep doin’ all this overtime. Please, just go to this interview, and you never know, you might like the job.”
Chaz looked like he was ready to snap, his angry expression making Ash nervous. Wanting to spend more time with his mother, Ash mouthed, “Please,” as his stepdad looked across at him.
Chaz’s features softened. “Okay, I’ll do it for you.”
Ash smiled and mouthed, “Thank you.”
15
Tiana
Friday, August 25.
Ash entered the homeroom looking exhausted, the dark rings under his eyes noticeable from a few desks away. Tiana slumped further in her chair, a little scared as his tired gaze landed on her. After what Jenna had said she was paranoid that he would walk right past her.
A smile lit up Ash’s face, and as Levi so rudely put it, like one of her stupid characters her heart flew to his service. Yeah, she was melodramatic, but she couldn’t help it when he smiled like that.
He walked towards her. Although the bell had gone ten minutes ago, their teacher still hadn’t arrived. Mr. Kennan had been turning up later every day, which she didn’t mind with homeroom, but not for maths class. At one point she thought about telling her parents, because she didn’t want Mr. Kennan affecting her grades. But in the end she decided to say nothing after Lavinia had looked at her like she was crazy for wanting to complain.
Ash leaned his elbows on her desk. “Haven’t seen you for a bit. Been up too much?”
She shrugged, not wanting to tell him about the trouble with her family. Yesterday, her parents had a huge argument after they’d returned home from the hospital. Lately they hadn’t been getting on, but they didn’t usually yell at each other. And she couldn’t stand hearing her name amongst their fight, or her father’s upset voice. He’d threatened to leave her mother, something that had scared Tiana more than anything.
“Why’d ja leave school yesterday?” Ash asked.
“My brother got hurt.”
“What happened to him?”
“His supposed best friend knocked him unconscious.”
Ash blew out a breath.
“Why you smiling?” she snapped.
He looked down. “Sorry, didn’t mean to. Is he alright?”
“Not really. Monika’s scumbag boyfriend damaged Levi’s eardrum,” she said loud enough for her cousin to hear. Behind her, Monika snapped that it was Levi’s fault. Tiana turned around and glared at her. “No, it wasn’t!”
Monika’s jaw clenched, but she dropped her gaze, mumbling something that Tiana couldn’t make out.
“Where’s your bro now?” Ash said.
Tiana turned back to face him, still annoyed that he was happy that Levi had gotten hurt. “In the hospital—” She went to ask why he’d fought with her brother, but Ash spoke before she could get the words out.
“Do you still love me?” he whispered.
“Of course I do, I already told ja that, and why—”
A loud cough interrupted her, followed by the word “Cheater.”
Tiana glanced behind her as more coughs were accompanied by the words “Slut,” “Slag” and “Cocksucker.” Students started sniggering. She glared at Ash’s three mates in the far corner. Marko dropped his gaze, Joel glared back while Ant laughed.
Ash straightened. “Shut the fuck up!”
Ant coughed, “Homo.” Ash grabbed something off the teacher’s desk and threw it, pens and pencils flying everywhere. Ant ducked, then burst out laughing as the pencil holder hit Joel behind him. Joel jumped up and swiped out at Ant, who kept ducking and laughing.
Ash glared at Ant for a while, his hands clenching. He hadn’t been getting on with his mate ever since he’d told Ant to stop bullying Tiana’s drama partner. He exhaled loudly and refocused on Tiana. “I thought you were avoiding me after Wednesday.”
“Why would ja think that?”
“You didn’t call me. I wuz worried you didn’t like what we did.”
“You didn’t call me either, and I liked it plenty.” Her eyes darted to the side, hoping no one knew what they were talking about.
He leaned towards her ear. “You wanna do it again?”
She nodded, her face heating. She had only just gotten into blowing him when her mother had come home, the interruption a major anti-climax. But she liked it, and liked it even more when he touched her breasts—definitely keen on getting him to do that again.
“I’d like to do it for you too,” Ash said.
“Eh?” She’d thought he was talking about blowjobs. “What do ya mean?”
“You know. I wanna lick ya…” he lowered his eyes, “down there.”
Her face flushed. “You can’t do that.”
“Why not? You did it for me.”
She pulled a face. “But you have a… you-know-what, and I don’t. I mean, of course I don’t, but you can’t do that, it’s icky.”
He grinned. “I don’t think so, and I wanna do it. Joel reckons it tastes good.”
“Oooh, that’s gross!”
He laughed. “What did I taste like?”
Lavinia sniggered next to them. “Salty.”
Tiana gave Lavinia a glare. Her friend looked unapologetic as she grinned from ear to ear. Tiana looked back at Ash. “Keep your voice down.”
His eyes crinkled at the sides, the way they did when he was being cheeky. “I reckon you’d taste reeeaal good.”
She hit his arm. “Stoppit, Ash, you’re bein’ disgusting.”
“I can be a lot more disgusting.” He laughed as she hit him again. “You look so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
She looked at the cover of her maths boo
k. He didn’t usually talk to her like this—and especially not within earshot of others. She wondered whether he thought he’d gained liberties because of the blowjob. Yeah, most likely, since something similar had happened after their first kiss. She’d waited a full month for him to kiss her, so when he didn’t she’d landed a clumsy one on his lips. Within a day he was French kissing her.
Ash tapped her book. “Still love me?”
She looked back up. Why did he keep asking that? It was starting to annoy her, especially since he wasn’t going to return the words. “I already said yes.”
He leaned his mouth close to her ear again. “I love you too.”
Tiana went still, unsure if she’d heard right.
He whispered something in a different language, adding, “That’s I love you in Croatian.” He continued talking in what sounded like Maori, the word for love—aroha—jumping out at her. “You should know what that means, what’s it in Tongan?”
She didn’t know whether to smile or act cool, even though she wanted to jump up and hug him. She’d never expected him to say it back—no matter how much she’d fantasied about it.
“Not gonna tell me?” he said.
A large smile broke through. “You took me by surprise.”
“Well … what’s it in Tongan?”
“‘Ofa ‘atu.”
“‘Ofa ‘atu, Tiana.” He smiled, making her melt. “I also missed you, been thinking ‘bout you a lot. And I did call, but your mother kept answering.” He looked over at Lavinia who was pretending that she wasn’t eavesdropping—and failing. “Can I sit in your chair today?”
“Sure.” Grinning, Lavinia snatched up her bag and moved to the back of the class. Tiana glanced over her shoulder to see if Lavinia sat next to Joel—the only empty seat. Joel smiled at Lavinia, indicating for his stepsister to come over. Instead, Lavinia tapped Kelley’s shoulder and asked something. In response, Kelley got up and sat next to Joel, who scowled and turned to face the window. Kelley covered her face with her hair and a hand as Ant, her ex, leaned towards her.
“Lavinia really hates her stepbro,” Ash said, sitting down in Lavinia’s chair. “Don’t know why, cos he likes her.”
Tiana made a spiffing sound. “If that’s true, he’s got a warped way of showing it. He’s nasty as hell to her.”
“I’ve known him forever. The chicks he goes out of his way to insult are the ones he likes the most, and it’s always after he’s been turned down.”
“He insulted me yesterday; does that mean he likes me?”
Ash grimaced. “He’s never asked you out, plus he got things mixed up. He thought your bro wuz someone else and your cousin said you blew her boyfriend.”
Tiana went still.
“Don’t worry; I know it’s not true. You’re not like that. I even punched Ant for trashing you. I’m sick of that bastard. Even Joel knows when to quit, but Ant … Man, I just wanna smack his face in.”
Tiana wanted to kiss Ash. He’d defended her!
He continued, “I need to keep away from Ant today. Anyway, I’d much rather spend time with you. You wanna come over to my house at lunch? Maybe we could finish where we left off?”
“Um...” Tiana pulled a face. “Do ya think that’s a good idea after what happened the last time?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
“What about your mum and stepdad?”
“Both will be out, so all’s good.”
But, what about Jenna? There was no way she was willing to be humiliated again, no matter how much she wanted to go with him. She supposed they could sneak out separately, but the memory of Wednesday was stopping her from suggesting it.
He looked disappointed. “Don’t you wanna?”
“It’s not that—”
“If you don’t come, then I can’t show you the pictures I drew of you.”
She straightened. “You drew pictures of me?”
He blushed. “Um … yeah, I didn’t meana say that. Maybe we should stay at school.”
She couldn’t stop from smiling. No one had ever done anything like that for her before. Maybe they could leave and get back without anyone noticing. “It’s alright, we can go. I’d love to see your drawings.”
“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it, they’re not very good. You won’t wanna see them.”
“Yes, I do, so we’re goin’.”
16
Ash
Lunch
Definition of moron: Ash!
There was no way in hell he wanted to show Tiana those drawings. He’d spoken without his brain turned on, the only thing talking was just that—his thing. Ever since she went down on him, he’d been aching for her to do it again, and dreaming about her naked...
...and drawing her like that.
Christ, if she saw those pictures she’d more likely dump his sorry arse. He stopped at the crossing, trying to think of every image he’d drawn of her, because there had to be at least one that didn’t have her naked in it. When the traffic cleared, he crossed the road, nodding every so often to what Tiana was saying, although he wasn’t listening. After several minutes they headed up his driveway. As expected, Chaz’s white van wasn’t there, his stepdad probably still at the job interview. It didn’t matter either way, because Chaz liked him coming home for lunch.
Before he knew it they were standing in his bedroom, her looking excited and him feeling awkward as hell. He drew the curtains, then shut the door and placed the desk chair under the handle, earning a quizzical look from Tiana.
“Just in case my stepdad comes home early,” he said.
“I couldn’t handle that.”
Ash sat down on the bed. “Don’t worry, he’s okay with things.”
She remained standing. “Aren’t you gonna show me the pictures?”
“They’re not very good, but I can show you some others instead.”
“No, I wanna see the ones of me.”
He scratched a cheek, still trying to remember if he had anything other than nudes... A smile lit up his face at the memory of a portrait he’d done last week, Tiana’s God saving her from his homemade porno collection. He pulled out the large art folder from under his bed and placed it on the mattress. “Turn around, cos I only wanna show you the one I like.”
To his relief she did as instructed. He opened the folder and flicked through the nudes, plus a few still-lives that he’d done for his art class. More relief washed over him when he spotted the portrait, the image he’d copied from her school photo. He pulled it out and looked up, freezing as she stared down at the folder, her shocked expression telling him that she’d definitely seen the drawings. “I told ja not to look.”
“You drew me naked.”
He held out the portrait. “You saw wrong.”
“No, I didn’t.” She reached for the folder.
He slammed a hand on the cover. “They’re private.”
“I don’t care, I wanna see them.”
He grimaced. “But, you’ll get mad at me.”
“No, I won’t.” When he didn’t move his hand, she added, “I promise.”
Nervous, he let go, his mind running at full bore, trying to think up an excuse for doing them. Maybe he could say they were for an art project? Nope, that was stupid, he’d get into even more trouble, because what chick would want their tits and arse plastered across the art room?
She lifted the cover, her eyes riveted to the top image. In black and white, Tiana lay naked on his bed with his All Blacks duvet framing her body. She flicked through the other drawings and paintings, stopping on the comic book styled image of her on her knees, naked, and holding his…
She covered her mouth and gasped.
“I’m really sorry.” Ash squirmed as she continued to stare at the image. “Please don’t break up with me.”
“Why would I do that for?”
“The drawings.”
“But, I like them. Can I have one?”
“What?”
“Can I hav
e a picture?”
“Sure.” Relieved, he held out the portrait.
She ignored it and picked up the kneeling image. “I want this one.”
He couldn’t believe she liked it. Apart from the blowjob she’d given him, he’d always thought she was the typical good girl. Because of it he was extra careful around her, never smoking weed when she was with him, trying not to swear and so forth, but she was constantly surprising him.
He swallowed as she focused on him. The way she was looking at him was making his balls tingle.
“Well, can I keep it?”
He nodded.
“You really love me?”
“Yeah, I said it four different ways, didn’t I? I can even say it in Italian if you want,” he babbled, getting more nervous. “Hunter taught me, he’s part—”
“Do ya wanna see me naked?”
His mouth fell open.
She giggled. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“But, you’ve already seen mine.”
She looked down. “Sorry, I was tryna make a joke, guess it was a giant fail.”
“No, no, it’s cool.” Way cool. He took the picture out of her hand, put it into the folder with the other one, slipped everything under the bed, then started unbuttoning his pants. “See, I’m happy to do it.”
Her hands started shaking. “I kinda feel weird taking off my clothes in front of you.”
He stopped. “But, you just said—” Please don’t change your mind.
“I still mean it, but I’d prefer to do it under the bedcovers.”
Ash froze, praying he’d heard right. Do it. Did she mean sex?
She looked embarrassed. “Is it okay?”
Hell, yeah! He nodded so hard it felt like his head was going to fall off. He removed his pants as she slipped under his All Blacks duvet. She wriggled about underneath, her jumper and skirt soon at his feet. Her shirt, knickers and bra followed before her head resurfaced.
“You gonna get naked too?” she said, looking worried.
Realising he was staring; he quickly pulled off his jumper, shirt and socks, only stopping when he got to his underwear. Embarrassment flooded him as she focused on them. “I’ll get a condom,” he said, turning towards the cabinet.
Graffiti Heaven Page 9
