Chapter 10
I’ve never really been a one-night stand kind of girl. Sure, I’ve always gone for the wrong guys, but I’m a romantic with a five-date (minimum) rule, which means I get to know a guy before he breaks my heart.
When it comes to men I am usually strong, but when it comes to peer pressure, and alcopops, I’m pretty weak.
My phone keeps pinging with notifications from the group chat I am in with Mel and Angie.
Mel
You’d better be going home with him, Lia. Get stuck in.
Angie
She hasn’t seen him in years, she hardly knows him. What if she ends up with chlamydia, or dead, or worse? It will be all your fault!
It’s like having the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. I’m impressed at Angie, being the voice of reason, but, wow, you’ve got to wonder what on earth she ranks as worse than chlamydia and death.
Mel
He’ll show her a good time. Lia, go for it.
Angie
Lia, I’d make him wait. Seriously.
‘Is everything okay?’ Si asks, nodding towards my phone. ‘That thing is going crazy.’
‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s nothing important,’ I reply, adjusting the uncomfortable taxi seatbelt.
I focus on the taxi windows misting at the edges, from the cold night outside, as I think about what I should do.
It’s hard to know who to listen to. Mel, my friend, or Angie, who doesn’t seem to like me that much, but seems to have my best interests at heart – at least tonight.
It could be the Kapops talking, but I do actually want to go home with Si. In theory. He’s handsome, funny and single – what more do I need to know? Apart from whether or not he has chlamydia, strangles women, ‘or worse’.
I suppose I could always change my mind, but I think I’ve made the right call.
‘Are you sure you want to go straight home?’ Si asks, his voice low and silky smooth. He gives me what we’ll call an optimistic smile, but there’s no pressure in his eyes.
I hesitate – again – my mind racing. Part of me wants to say yes, to throw caution to the wind, but another part is more careful. I should listen to that part. To the Angie side of my brain.
‘Yeah, I have to be up early,’ I lie, my voice not quite convincing, even to myself. ‘We have a family thing.’
He nods.
‘Okay, well, maybe another time,’ he says.
‘Yeah, absolutely,’ I tell him with a smile.
The taxi slows to a stop outside my parents’ house. The street is quiet, the pavement shiny from the rain earlier. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Si turns to me, his hand brushing against mine where it rests on the middle seat.
‘Can I get your number?’ he asks. ‘I’d really like to see you again.’
‘Yeah, I’d like that too,’ I reply.
He hands me his phone so that I can put my number in. Our fingers touch lightly as I hand it back to him.
‘I’ll message you mine,’ he tells me.
I smile as I grab my bag from the floor.
‘Okay, well, goodnight, Lia,’ he says, his voice soft and sincere. ‘Sweet dreams.’
‘Yeah, goodnight,’ I reply, feeling excited but with a hint of regret as I step out of the taxi.
The chilly air sobers me up a tiny bit, wrapping itself around my bare legs and making me instantly regret not wearing those thick tights again – but after going through with the ordeal of having them waxed, it made sense to have my legs out.
That said, the hair must have been doing more than I thought.
I feel the cold even more now, like someone robbed me of my insulation.
As the car pulls away, I spot my brother, Rory, dragging his recycling bin to the end of his drive. He’s wearing a winter coat over his Star Wars pyjamas – and this man has the audacity to tell me that I’m not cool. He narrows his eyes at the taxi before turning his gaze to me.
‘Who was that?’ he asks, his tone suspicious.
I laugh, trying to keep things light.
‘Funny story,’ I begin in a voice that does not sound like my own. ‘I bumped into Si, and he offered me a lift home in his taxi.’
Rory doesn’t look amused.
‘Si? Seriously?’ he replies.
I shrug, sensing his disapproval.
‘Yeah, it was nice catching up with him,’ I say. ‘Are you guys still friends?’
‘No,’ Rory says simply.
‘What, did you, like, fall out or something?’
‘We’re not kids any more, Lia,’ he says, sounding a little bit annoyed now, actually. ‘We didn’t fall out, like babies, we’re adults, and we’re not friends, so can you just leave it?’
‘Okay, fine,’ I reply.
‘I wouldn’t hang out with him, if I were you,’ he tells me as he tightens his dressing gown belt.
‘Why not?’ I ask.
‘He’s not a great guy,’ he says simply. ‘Let’s just leave it at that.’
‘Okay,’ I reply, sensing the tension, knowing better than to push him further on the matter right now. ‘Goodnight, Rory.’
‘Goodnight,’ he mutters, turning back to his house.
Jeez, he’s like a grumpy old man sometimes – ahead of his time.
As I head inside my mum and dad’s house, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the story. But maybe Rory’s right. Maybe it’s best to keep my nose out of it. Still, I can’t help but wonder what happened between them and why he doesn’t want me hanging out with Si either.
As I close the door behind me, I decide that, for tonight at least, I’ll leave the past where it belongs. To be honest, all I can think about right now is the future, and I don’t think I’ll be taking Rory’s advice. When it comes to Si, I think I’ll be making up my own mind.