The Winning Ticket (Circle of Friends #1)

15. I’ll Never Say No To A Visitor

JAKE

15

“Did you have a good weekend?” Dylan, the apprentice, asks as he takes a sip of Ice Break and shoves a pie in his mouth.

I try not to notice the crumbs falling onto the floor of my ute while I change gears.

“Yeah, it’s always good heading home,” I reply, turning off the highway onto High Street and heading into town. “I can’t wait until you get your licence back, mate. This drive out to get you every morning is getting old.”

“It’s not my fault you have your cushy house in town while I’m still living with my parents,” he shoots back, not remotely sorry that he was caught speeding while on his provisional licence one too many times and is now carless for the foreseeable future.

I grit my teeth, getting the shits with the seventeen-year-old who has no idea how much he’s pissed both my father and me off with this latest inconvenience.

“Well, you’re going to have to sort something out soon because this is costing me fuel money, and I already have to get up too fucking early without adding a forty-five-minute drive out to your parent’s winery every morning and night. Why can’t your girlfriend drive you?”

“Kirra won’t drive out there during the week. It’s too far from her place, and she doesn’t like staying overnight when my parents are always hovering around.”

“So? Stay at her place. She lives in town, and it would be a lot easier.”

He gapes at me for a minute. “Are you serious? I can’t just stay at her house all the time! We’ve only been together for a year.”

“Well, it will be over soon enough if you keep dicking around and losing your licence because you can’t keep your foot off the accelerator.”

“What’s crawled up your ass, mate? This is worse than your usual grumpy morning shit.” Dylan glowers at me.

I sigh, realising that I have been a bit of a dick… Although he definitely needs to do something about the lack of licence situation.

“Sorry, I’m just tired.”

“Well, yeah, you’ve been driving back and forth to Brisbane way more than usual,” he grumbles, squishing himself down in his seat to pout like a child.

I swear, if he weren’t my Dad’s best mate’s kid, he would be looking for a new job.

“Well, the company there is far more interesting than anyone I’ve met around here,” I shoot back, and I get an eye roll in response.

I’m only eight years older than him, but I swear it feels like I’m much older whenever I have to deal with his shitty attitude.

“So you’ve found yourself someone to sleep with there? Stacey’s going to be pissed.”

The joy of living in a small town is that everyone knows each other’s business. Something that hasn’t really bothered me before, but ever since I hooked up with Stacey a few times, everyone has been acting like we were the next big thing.

“Stacey will be fine. It was never going to be anything more than what it was, and we were both very aware of that. But to answer your question, no, I’m not sleeping with anyone in Brisbane.”

Not that I hadn’t found myself considering it with Bri being so close by all weekend. My mind instantly goes back to that moment in the kitchen on Saturday night when I had Bri in my arms, and all I could think about was kissing her.

“Well, what else is so good about the city then? I hate it there. Everyone is always in a rush, the traffic is shit, and people are rude.”

“Could you sound any more like a country boy right now?” I ask with a short laugh.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

I have never been more relieved to pull up to a job site in my life.

I leave Dylan to get the tools sorted in the ute and search for my father. He recently signed a contract with a local builder, and we’re now working on a bunch of new builds in town, which would be great if I didn’t have to keep driving Dylan to and from his parent’s house out of town. I can almost see my house from here.

I find him in the kitchen, getting a new cooktop set up.

“Hey. Can we please discuss the situation with Dylan?” I ask, not even waiting for Dad to turn around.

“He giving you grief again?” Dad doesn’t look up while he continues what he’s doing.

“Of course he is. He’s a pain in the ass, and I’m sick of having to get up two hours early to deal with his ungrateful attitude.”

“What’s up with you?” He finally looks up and squints at me.

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be spending your weekends driving to and from the city then.”

“Not you, too,” I grumble, and Dad chuckles.

“Ah, so that’s part of the argument, is it? Well, he’s got a point.”

“He still needs to sort out his lift situation.”

Dad straightens up, continuing to look at me while he wipes his hands on a cloth.

“I’ll chat to John about it. You’re right. Getting him to and from work shouldn’t be up to us. But maybe you should think about spending a few more weekends at home rather than driving three hours to and from the city,” he says with a pointed look.

“Maybe,” I mutter.

That’s all I’m willing to say, and my father considers the conversation over. We get to work, finishing up wiring the house throughout the day.

Dad offers to take Dylan home and says he’ll chat with John, so I gratefully head home that afternoon, grabbing myself a beer from the fridge as soon as I walk in the door.

I hate working during summer; the heat is stifling, and I’m exhausted and grumpy after spending the day in forty-degree heat.

Once I’ve downed my beer, I have a quick shower to try and feel more human before settling on the couch with my guitar. It has long been my favourite way to unwind. Music has always been my escape, even though these days, it’s purely for my own enjoyment. When I moved out here, I’d given up on the dream of playing in front of a crowd, leaving the band I’d helped form in high school for an apprenticeship that would mean a stable income.

As I start working through my favourite songs, my phone chirps loudly, and I fish it out of my pocket.

Little B

Hey, hey. How was your day? I saw it was meant to be a scorcher out there today, so I just thought I’d make sure you’re alive.

Despite my shitty mood, I smile at my phone. A selfie of her and Maddie accompanies her message while she’s sitting on the side of the spa, and I feel a pang in my chest, wishing I was there with her.

Jake

Yeah, it was pretty brutal. I had to be up at 5 to get the apprentice from out of town, too, so I was hot and tired. It’s not the best mix. I was snapping at people all day. You look like you’re having a good time, though.

Little B

That sucks, I’m sorry you had a shitty day. If it makes you feel any better, Maddie misses you terribly. She kept walking to your bedroom to look for you after you left.

The pang in my chest has grown to a full-blown ache now. I look around my lounge room and wish I was there right now rather than sitting here alone.

Sometimes, I wonder if winning the apartment was more of a curse than a blessing. I’d slowly settled down in Stanthorpe and even attempted to strike up friendships, but now all I want to do is stay in Brisbane. And I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that a large part of that was because of a certain blonde woman and her little ball of fluff currently sitting in that apartment, apparently missing me… well, at least the fluff ball was missing me.

Jake

That does make me feel better. How was your day?

Little B

Pretty good. I worked from home and cleaned the apartment.

What could she possibly have to clean? The apartment was so damn clean it was practically sparkling. Whenever I entered a room over the weekend, Bri was in there with a cloth and spray, manically cleaning all surfaces like her life depended on it. I know how Bri grew up; her family was tidy, but she was never this concerned with cleaning… Something is up there.

Jake

Sounds like a great day. Minus the cleaning part… that part sounds boring.

I watch my phone, waiting for the bubble to appear to show she’s typing, but nothing happens.

After five minutes, I wonder if I’ve said the wrong thing.

I try to distract myself and get back into the flow of the music, but after ten minutes, I know I’ve said something wrong.

Worried I’ve upset her, I grab my phone again and type the first thing I can think of.

Jake

Want a visitor this weekend?

The bubble appears immediately, and I stare at the phone, not even realising I am actually holding my breath until her response appears.

Little B

I’ll never say no to a visitor.

So much for not driving as much this weekend…