My Aussie Guy - Liz Lovelock Page 0,17

guy who’s taken.

“What if he didn’t have one?” Addison probes.

If only.

“He does and that’s it. I’m not going to think about all the what if’s when it is what it is right now. He has a girlfriend. I’m happy to get to know him and be his friend.” Even as I say the words, I don’t believe them. A trickle of sadness creeps in. I’d love for him to not have a girlfriend, but I’m not going to wish her away for my own benefit.

“Long distance doesn’t always work,” Paislee says.

“And there it is… even if he didn’t have a girlfriend, he’s still going back to Australia in the future, and then where would we be? I’d be upset, and I’m sure he’d find himself another girl.” The car falls silent as I’m sure my tone put out a ‘let’s not talk about this anymore’ vibe.

Move on, Elsie. Stop dwelling on what can or can’t be.

Move on.

Why the hell didn’t I tell her? Damn, I’m such a screw-up. I can hear my sister’s voice chewing me out for being so stupid in the first place. And now Elsie’s staying at the house. It’s like dangling temptation right in my stupid face. I have to tell her tonight.

“Did you guys like the movie?” I ask, pushing away the dread that’s filling me.

Parker looks at me in the passenger seat then back to the road. “It wasn’t too bad. Addison was pretty jumpy.” He chuckles.

“So was Elsie. I thought she was going to have a heart attack in the cinema, the amount of times her hand would clutch at her chest.”

Dane is very quiet in the back, and I think Parker notices it as well.

“Was Paislee okay or scared out of her mind?” Parker asks casually, as though he knows nothing. I wonder if he’s choosing to be blind to it, or if he actually is oblivious to what’s going on between them.

Dane coughs. I smirk, knowing he must feel uncomfortable. “Uh… yeah, she was jumpy as well. She had her hands over her face most of the time.” He laughs nervously.

“I hope you were keeping your hands to yourself,” Parker teases.

I turn and look at Dane, but his face is unreadable. What seems to be a fake smile pulls at his lips.

“Pfft… of course.” Oh, he’s good. Wait till the truth is out, though. That’s going to be like a bomb exploding. There’s no doubt.

“Good. Oi… Aiden, did you talk to Elsie about what I mentioned to you before we went to the movies?” Parker asks.

Damn him. Don’t bring that up in the car with Dane. It’s like a circle of secrets going on in here.

I rub my neck. “Uh… no. Not yet. Maybe later, since she’s staying at the house tonight.” The twist in my gut makes me sick.

“Yeah, you better do that.”

Silence falls in the car of secrets untold until we get back to the house.

The girls are already there, sitting on the step. Is it possible to feel scared and happy at the same time? I’m happy to be spending more time with Elsie tonight, though I’m scared about what she’s going to say. Like stabbing-pains-to-my-gut scared. How pathetic is that?

We climb out of the car, and the girls stand to greet us.

“G’day, girls,” I say.

They all giggle, which is the reaction I was going for.

“It’s night, you clown,” Elsie cracks back like the little firecracker she is.

“Oh, firecracker, you’re a quick one.” I wink and stroll past her, purposely moving close, so our arms briefly touch. The tension between us thickens. I have to keep moving, knowing how much her closeness affects me. I have a job to do before I can allow myself to be near her. I shouldn’t have held her hand tonight at the movies. I could tell she felt uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to let go, though.

“Quick and beautiful…” She rolls her eyes. “Boom! There goes my mouth again,” she says.

I can think of one thing I’d like to do with that mouth.

Snap out of it.

I shake my head and head inside the house, following the rest of the gang. I glance at my watch, realizing it’s late. We have practice tomorrow. As I think it, Parker says, “Well, guys and gals, we’re heading to bed. See you bright and early for practice.” He winks and takes Addison’s hand and walks away.

Addison stops as they’re almost out of the room. “Elsie, the sofa bed is over there. I’m sure Aiden or Dane