Netherfield Prep (Austen Reimagined: P&P #1)
Page 40
Because, yes, Jax hadn’t been able to contain his excitement and had proposed to Anne last summer at Huntsford. I’d gathered from Anne that he must have been planning it for ages, all elaborate that it was. They were going to get married after our exams, before uni started. Needless to say, Linda couldn’t stop bragging. Jax took it well, though, good-humoured puppy that he was.
Hunter had never brought up the whole liking me thing again and seemed genuinely happy for Austin and me. I had noticed a slight change in his flirting with girls, and the calibre of the girls he flirted with, but he hadn’t dated anyone yet. Still, he seemed okay and I was glad for it.
As for Austin, he was still a little aloof with the other students, and the public in general – not that I could blame him, the public can be scary – but he was very open and warm when it was just the few of us. He was constantly smiling and laughing, and we teased each other mercilessly.
I’d long since got over the stink eyes I’d get when we walked down the hall. It seems most girls at Netherfield still held out some hope they’d be the one to tame the great Austin Cooper.
Mandy reminded me constantly how glad she was that it was me. She’d taken up residence at Pemberley full-time in the last year. Austin grumbled about it all the time, but I knew he’d been at the head of convincing her to do just that. We’d spent a lot of time at Pemberley, or Huntsford, before the exam pressure started getting to us, and Amanda had become as much a sister as Kate, Gemma, Anne or Marie.
“Okay, I’m calling that a day,” Kate said, closing her book.
I looked up at her and smiled. “Really? You’re calling not doing any work and talking about boys for hours ‘a day’?”
Kate pouted at me. “I did some work.”
“Did you though?” Anne asked.
Kate sighed and opened her book back up.
“No, Katie, it’s fine,” I laughed, feeling Austin’s leg bump mine under the table. “If you want to be done for today, be done.”
She looked at me in surprise but smiled as she, Gemma and Marie packed up their stuff, said goodbye and hurried out.
“Can anyone remember when they became such fast friends?” Anne sighed, watching them go.
“Not really, but I think Marie’s been a good influence on them,” I replied.
“I think that was more you than anyone else, but, I think, shockingly, they’re good for her too. She’s so much less…stuffy now.”
I smiled. “She’s more relaxed.”
Anne laughed, “That’s one way to put it.”
Jax stretched and Hunter dropped his head on the table in frustration.
“I’m calling it, too. I need more coffee before I keep this up,” Hunter groaned.
“I’m with Williams on this one.” Jax grimaced.
“All right, we’ll get coffee then come straight back, okay?” Anne said, looking at them both sternly.
They nodded and got up to leave.
“You guys aren’t coming?” Anne asked, turning back to me and Austin.
We shared a look and I knew he was happy to keep working for a bit.
“Nah, I’m right. If I have any more coffee, I’m going to vibrate out of my skin.” I smiled.
“Suit yourself.” Anne grinned. “I’d bring some back, but…”
“I know, stupid stuffy school with very lax rules decides to keep the one about no food and drink in the library,” I laughed.
Anne grinned and followed after Jax, not that he was likely to go very far without her if he didn’t have to. I smiled as I watched them go, Hunter laughing with them.
It was late and the library was nearly empty, but we figured we may as well push on. Besides, I’d had so much coffee that day, I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon.
“I can feel you worrying,” Austin said, his finger entwining with mine on the desk.
“And, I can feel you not worrying.”
“We’ll be fine. Besides, you’re smart enough for the both of us.”
I chuckled, “Smart enough for the both of us doesn’t help us pass and get into uni next year.”
Mandy had decided to start some sort of humanitarian charity and Austin, Jax, and Hunter had all invested a fair chunk into her new company. High off their good deeds, they’d made the decision to go to business school. Still, they hadn’t seemed to regret it so far.
“About that…”
“Mm?” I asked, not looking at him.
“How much do you want to be Doctor Brewer?”
I sighed. This again?
Well, actually, it was the first time I’d heard it from Austin. And, I had to say I was surprised. But, Dad had been at me constantly about how I really didn’t need my PhD because Austin would support me, because Austin had bucket loads of money and would only make more as he got older, and that I’d never have to work a day of my life. But, I wanted to. If only because there was still a lingering part of myself that had to do it all on my own, that wanted to prove I could get by without a man.
“Lil-”
“Austin, you know it’s important to me. I expect this sort of thing from Dad, but not from you. I thought you supported me going through to my PhD?”
“I do. I support anything you want to do. I was merely wondering whether you desperately wanted to be Doctor Brewer…or if, perhaps, becoming Doctor Cooper was just as appealing?”
“What?” I looked at him, momentarily confused.
He was focussed on the book in front of him as though he hadn’t said anything. The only hint he was up to something was a slight curve of his mouth.
Still he said nothing.
After a minute of my staring at him like a fish, he gently slid his hand from mine, reached into his bag and slid something across the table to me, all without looking at me. I looked down at the little box, then back to him, then around the library, and back to the little box.
“What is that?” I asked, pointing at it and feeling a quite excited fluttering in my chest.
I could tell he was having a hard time keeping his face impassive. “Why don’t you open it and see.”
I glared at him as best I could while I picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a very beautiful diamond ring.
“Is this what I think it is?”
“Depends what you think it is,” he replied, still looking for all the world like he was studying.
I was starting to feel glad he wasn’t looking at me as I felt heat spread up my cheeks. “I think it’s you asking me to marry you,” I said, trying to keep the catch out of my voice.
“In that case, yes, it’s exactly what you think it is,” he said, pulling another book towards him.
I watched him carefully.
Nearly two years since I’d first seen him outside this very library and his effect on me hadn’t dulled for a moment. He was just as attractive, just as aggravating, and just as proud as he’d always been. Only, now his pride was a little more tempered and we both tended not to jump to conclusions quite so quickly.
“I suppose this is the part I give you my answer?” I asked, turning back to my own books.
“That is customary.”
“First, can I ask why here, why now?”
“Four reasons; one, you love books; two, you love the library; three, you love me; and, four, this is where we met. I’m just sorry I couldn’t think of a way to bring killing zombies into the mix.”
I sighed dramatically to hide my laugh. “I suppose being Doctor Cooper would be just as good as Doctor Brewer.”
He shifted beside me and I saw he was facing me. He looked nothing like that first time he’d asked me out; all conceit and expectation. Instead, he looked nothing but nervous and quietly hopeful.
I smiled. “Yes.”
He grinned and looked to the box. “May I?”
I nodded and he slid the ring onto my finger. He smiled at me for a few moments, but I couldn’t tell you what he was looking for. With o
ne final nod, he kissed me, then went back to his study. Smiling, I followed suit, stealing glances at the ring every now and then.
When the others came back, they merely shared a knowing smile with us and a nod, but said nothing until we broached the subject.
Keeping Up Appearances
three’s a crowd, but four’s a war.
Big girl undies? Check.
Speech planned? Check.
Nerves of steel? Check.
A single crush? …not check…?
What do you do when you find your best friend/crush kissing your other best friend on the day you were going to declare your feelings for him? You only agree to fake date your crush’s rival, the King of the Bows and all around douche, Xander.
Across the school, battlelines are drawn and sides are taken between the new ’it’ couple of my former best friends and the excitingly scandalous pairing of me and King Douche.
He calls it ‘keeping up appearances’, I call it ‘take one more pass at my arse and I’ll break your nose’.
They say all’s fair in love and war, but what’s so fair about falling for the wrong guy when your two best friends are on the other side of the battlelines?
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B uy Li nk s
A bo ut th e A ut ho r
Born in New Zealand to a Brit and an Australian, I am an emerging writer with a passion for all things storytelling. I love reading, writing, TV and movies, gaming, and spending time with family and friends. I am an avid fan of British comedy, superheroes, and SuperWhoLock. I have too many favourite books, but I fell in love with reading after Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn. I am obsessed with all things mythological – my current focus being old-style Irish faeries. I live in Adelaide with my long-suffering husband, delirious dog, mad cat, two guinea pigs, two chickens, and a lazy turtle.
Where to find me:
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Email: elizabeth.stevens@live.com