34. You Snooze, You Lose
YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE
AIDEN
On Saturday evening, I feel like a kid on his first day at a new school.
While Tara has assured me that her friends are great, my nerves have been jangling away all day, and by the time I arrive at her door with a bottle of wine clutched in my hand, I feel sick.
Which is ridiculous because I’m a grown man, for fuck’s sake.
“Hi, Aiden.” Bri stands at the door with a smile, stepping aside to usher me in. “This is my husband, Jake.” She nods towards the guy standing in the middle of the kitchen surrounded by enough food to feed a small army.
“How’s it going?” Jake nods, moving to wipe his hands on a dishcloth before coming to shake my hand.
“Good. It’s nice to meet you,” I reply, shaking his hand firmly.
“Tara’s just finishing in the shower, she’ll be out in a minute,” Bri says, taking the bottle when I hold it out towards her. “Thank you.”
“So, Aiden. How are you settling in?” Jake asks while I take a seat on one of the high stools behind the kitchen counter.
“So far, it’s been fine,” I reply, nodding my thanks to Bri when she hands me a glass of the wine. “I mean, I’m still trying to wrap my head around all the insurance jargon, but everything else has been okay.”
“Yeah, Tara mentioned you’d had some issues.”
I smirk. “I’ll bet she did.”
“I was only a little mean,” Tara says, coming out of her bedroom. She stops beside me and gives me a quick kiss before ruffling my hair. “And it was all before I got to know you properly.”
I run my eyes over her, still having trouble believing that I get to check her out as much as I want now. “I guess I’ll let it slide then.”
“Good idea,” she replies with a grin, leaning in to my side when I put my arm around her waist.
She reaches across the bench to grab a carrot stick from a platter that Jake is working on.
“Oi! I haven’t finished putting that together yet! Hands off.” He slaps her hand away, but she manages to steal the carrot and crunches it loudly, grinning.
“Sorry Jake, you snooze, you lose.”
“Get out of my kitchen, Tara,” he replies, and she raises an eyebrow.
“Whose kitchen?”
Jake shrugs, unperturbed by the reminder that she lives here all the time. “When I’m in this kitchen, it’s all mine. Unless you want to miss out on the food?”
She laughs. “Well, given how awesome your food is, I guess I better accept that it’s yours when you’re here.”
“Wise decision.”
I relax a little, enjoying watching her interact with her friends. I can see now what she meant about them being like family. She and Jake continue to bicker good naturedly while Bri looks on, shaking her head with an exasperated sigh for my benefit .
“I’d hoped that having new company around would make them be on their best behaviour,” she says, smiling at me.
“Wait until Morgan gets here, then it’ll be ten times worse,” Tara responds.
“Who’s Morgan again?” I ask, trying to put together all the connections between them.
“My best friend,” Jake replies, at the same time that Bri says, “My sister.”
I look at Tara with a raised brow.
“Also known as Chris’ wife,” she contributes with a shrug.
“Right. And this is the Chris who used to work at the office, yeah?”
She nods. “Yep. The one you thought I was madly in love with.”
I groan while Jake and Bri both snort with laughter. “We promised never to speak of that again.”
She crunches on the carrot again. “I made no such promise. You must be imagining things.” She grins and winks.
This is the side of her I’ve been falling in love with since we met. In this moment, she is exactly like the version of herself I met that first night.
While I’m momentarily awestruck, a little white dog comes trotting into the room from the balcony. Toulouse hisses at her from the top of the couch, but she ignores him and makes a beeline straight for me.
“Who’s this?” I ask, leaning down to pat the dog’s soft head while it stands on its back legs to paw at my calf.
“That’s our dog, Maddie,” Jake says, walking to pick up the intercom when it rings, alerting them to more guests arriving.
I lean down to lift Maddie up onto my lap. “She’s adorable,” I reply, scruffing her up while her whole body wriggles with excitement.
“Yeah, she knows it, too,” Bri replies, watching with a smile while Maddie tries to lick my face .
Not keen on getting covered in doggy kisses just now, I pop her back down on the floor, and she heads around the bench to sit by Jake’s feet. She stares up at him with wide eyes, and Jake drops a carrot on the floor for her. She grabs it and tears back outside.
“Not sure I’ve ever seen a dog eat a carrot before,” I comment.
“She’s obsessed with them. As soon as she sees me get the packet out of the fridge, I can’t get her away from me.” Jake shakes his head. “She’s definitely an odd little one.”
As Bri opens her mouth, no doubt to defend the dog, a knock sounds at the door.
Tara moves from my side to open it, standing aside as Chris leads the way inside, followed by a blonde woman who bears a striking resemblance to Bri, and a tall brown-haired guy.
I recognise him from the night I danced with Tara in the city and assume this must be the infamous Will.
“Hey guys,” Jake says, nodding towards the newcomers before bending to get something out of the oven.
A delicious smell wafts out, making my mouth water.
“Hey,” the blonde woman gives Tara a quick hug before moving into the kitchen to join Bri, giving her a squeeze.
This has to be Morgan. They could almost pass as twins.
Tara introduces me to all of them, and the guys shake my hand.
Will eyes me with interest but seems hesitant to say more than “hi”.
I’m not sure if it’s because I know their history, but I can see the awkwardness between him and Tara, although I’m determined not to pass my own judgement until I get to know him a bit more.
“Alright, dinner’s ready. Everyone, grab a plate or something,” Jake announces, nodding towards all the side dishes he’s got spread out, while he holds up the oven tray.
“What are we having?” Morgan asks, sniffing the air.
“Lamb.” Jake holds the tray out towards her to inspect, and she nods her approval.
We all grab something and I follow Tara outside to the balcony .
As the evening wears on, the conversation flows naturally. Tara’s friends are welcoming - asking questions about London and how I’m settling in. My nerves from earlier have eased, and it’s nice to feel like I’m a part of the group.
“Oh, we’ve only got a few minutes before the fireworks start,” Bri says, jumping up to race inside.
“What’s she doing?” I ask Tara.
“Putting the TV on so we can hear the soundtrack they’ve put together.
That’s the only down side to watching it from here, away from the crowds.
We can’t hear the music that they have timed everything with.
But it’s so worth it. Come on.” She grabs my hand and drags me to the end of the terrace that overlooks the Story Bridge and city.
Across the river, I can see a huge crowd of people lining every available space along the fence line and am grateful I’m up here rather than being squashed amongst so many bodies.
Music starts playing from inside, and Bri makes it back to stand in front of Jake, who pulls her backwards so that her back is pressed against his chest, just as the first firework goes off.
Mirroring Jake and Bri, Tara and I stand in awed silence while the impressive display continues.
“Oh, look at the Bridge!” Tara calls, pointing ahead of us all.
We watch, open mouthed, as a curtain of flames fall from the bridge. I’ve never seen fireworks like this before, and the hairs on my arms raise while an old Aussie rock song starts playing.
Throughout the twenty minute display, the atmosphere is electric, and my arms tighten around Tara as I stare up at the explosions occuring above the river all around the city.
While we can’t see the fireworks happening on the South Bank side, we can hear them, and it amazes me how much is happening all at once.
“What do you think?” Tara says, looking up at me over her shoulder.
“It’s awesome,” I reply, truthfully .
I never thought I’d be so excited about fireworks at my age, but I can understand why they make such a big deal out of this event.
She looks up at me with an expression full of joy, and my attention is pulled from the rapid fire explosions that signal the end is near. Leaning down, I brush my lips to hers, and she reaches back to grip my neck, deepening the kiss.
“Alright, you two, settle down,” Morgan says from beside us, laughing when we don’t immediately respond.
“Shoosh, leave them alone,” Bri says, and I assume the slap I hear is her smacking her sister’s arm.
We pull apart and Tara gives me a sheepish little smile before we return our attention to the last of the display
Afterwards, Bri starts gathering plates, and Will, Tara and I move to help her.
“Shall we move this party to the spa?” Jake asks.
“Well, we have some news,” Morgan says, and I glance over to see her exchanging looks with Chris.
The others have paused in helping clear the table. Bri has a smile slowly appearing on her face, and I have a feeling I know what’s about to happen.
“Morgan’s pregnant. So, no spa for her,” Chris says a moment later, confirming my suspicions.
“Oh my gosh! That’s so great!” Tara exclaims beside me, and she rushes around the table to give her friends a hug each.
From the smiles on their faces, it’s obvious that Bri and Jake already knew. The stunned look on Will’s face tells me this is definitely news to him, though. He stands frozen for a few moments, before shaking his head and going to join the others.
I hang back, politely nodding and smiling, while the group shares hugs. Tara glances over, cocking her head to the side before making her way to my side.
“Hey. Sorry, this is probably a bit uncomfortable for you.” She places a hand on my bicep and squeezes.
I put my arm around her, tucking her into my side. “Nope, I’m fine. It’s nice that your friends are able to share their excitement with you.”
The rest of the evening buzzes with conversation about babies and Morgan’s well-being. I catch Tara looking at me a few times, perhaps waiting for me to freak out, but I just smile, hoping to ease her anxiety.
Around ten, Morgan yawns, and Chris declares it’s time to go home. Will follows them both out the door after saying his own goodbyes, and it’s the four of us left in the apartment.
“We might head to bed, too,” Tara says, grabbing my hand.
Jake and Bri exchange grins before Jake shrugs. “No worries. We remember how it is.”
Tara blushes and shoots him a glare, but doesn’t let the innuendo stop her from dragging me into the bedroom. I give them a smile and a wave before closing the door.
“If you were going for subtle, I think you failed,” I say, grinning and reaching to pull her close.
She steps out of my reach, biting her lip. “I have no idea what you’re implying, mister. I’m just going to sleep.”
“Oh, well, in that case, goodnight.” I flop down on the bed and close my eyes.
Tara laughs and curls up beside me. “Okay, you got me. All I really wanted was to come in here and ravish you. You handled all the baby talk very well.”
I shake my head. “It was honestly fine. We’re at that age where people are settling down and starting families. I’m not freaking out.”
She props herself up on her elbow and peers down at me. “You really are one of the good ones, you know that?”
I stroke my thumb over her cheek. “I find it quite sad that such a simple thing makes me one of the good ones.”
“It’s not only the fact that you don’t turn into a freaked out mess at the mention of babies, and spending time with my friends. Thank you for just being you.” She turns to kiss the palm of my hand.
“You’re welcome. You’re pretty amazing, too,” I reply, pushing her hair back behind her ear.
She peers at me, her expression thoughtful.
“I don’t feel so amazing at the moment. I spoke to Mum yesterday, and she basically told me off for not wanting to meet Jordan and Piper.
Told me I don’t want to be the villain in their story.
And then I pretty much told Annelisa she was a terrible person. ”
I pause in the motion of rubbing her back and raise an eyebrow. “Okay, you’re gonna need to walk me through all of that.”
I listen while she goes over the details of her conversations with both her mother and her sister the previous evening, letting her talk it all out while I continue to run my hand up and down her back. Once she’s finished speaking, I nod my head.
“Well, I think it’s good that you did finally tell Annelisa how her actions have affected you.
And I also kind of agree with your mum. The girls are at that young age where they will still forgive you for not wanting to meet them before now, but if you leave it much longer, the older one is going to hit those fun teenage years, and then you may never be able to go back. ”
Tara nods. “Yeah, I know… I just don’t want to meet them on my own. I’d really hoped I might be able to convince Annelisa to see it that way, but I think that might be a lost cause.”
“I’m sorry that your sister isn’t able to find it in herself to be there. But you’re not alone. You still have me. And I’m sure if you asked any of the friends that you had here tonight, they would be with you as well. You’ve got a good support network around you,” I remind her with a smile.
“You’d really come with me?”
I nod. “I know a thing or two about meeting younger half siblings. Just tell me when you need me and I’ll be there.”
She smiles and places her hand on my chest. “Thank you. ”
I shake my head. “There’s no need to thank me. It’s what any good boyfriend would do.”
She pauses, a small smile playing across her lips. “Boyfriend, huh?”
“Yeah. Pretty sure we’re at that step now. If you don’t mind me calling you my girlfriend?” Despite the smile on her face, my heart races a little while I wait for her to reply.
“I’d really like that, Aiden.” She bends to kiss me, and I cup her face in my hands, savouring the gentleness of her lips on mine.
I could easily spend the rest of my life on this bed with her by my side.