Chapter Nine – Jack
Chapter Nine
JACK
A fter getting the bucks settled at Keith’s place, I head over to the bowling club with them to meet the girls. The evening unfolds in a blur of the usual terrible cover band, featuring Arthur as the sole musician in his signature red bandana and nineties sunnies, and some daggy dancing. Everyone is up on the dance floor except Andie. I watch as she ferries drinks between the bar and her friends’ table, hardly pausing to take a sip of her own.
When the club closes at 10 p.m., it’s clear the party has only just begun.
‘Back to ours for a nightcap?’ Richie asks as he stumbles down the wonky staircase and almost face-plants into the community garden.
Taylor leans forward, fumbling with her phone; she’s being held up by Lizzie.
‘And two-minute noodles?’ she slurs.
‘Genius!’ Garth cries. ‘Nightcaps and noodles.’
My stomach flips. I think about the way I scrubbed Keith’s kitchen from top to bottom only a few hours earlier. There’s no way I’m not going to chaperone them.
This side of the island is wilder; the pathways are less fringed than forested.
Taylor heads up the pack, her heels off and dangling from Ben’s hands. Richie and Garth, followed by Grace and Lizzie, walk behind them.
Andie hangs back, so I fall into step beside her.
‘Can you believe that after trying to get rid of them for the past twenty-four hours, we’re now choosing to spend time with them?’ she grumbles.
I let out a low laugh. ‘Clearly your decision.’
Her eyes slice sideways. ‘We should be in our pyjamas watching our day two movie by now. And day one’s,’ she adds, ‘since we missed that too.’
‘What was screening tonight?’
‘ Coyote Ugly .’
‘Wow. You really are forgoing a piece of cinematic history right there.’ I sneak a look at her to see her face scrunched.
‘You’ve never seen it, have you?’ she asks.
‘Excuse you. It’s only my favourite movie ever.’
‘Is that so? In that case, I’d love for you to tell me about it.’
‘Um . . . ah . . . well, it’s about that poor coyote who is unfortunately very ugly.’
‘And?’
‘And it becomes a very beautiful swan. Obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ she repeats, her groan turning into a laugh.
Bingo.
But before I can keep up our flirtatious exchange, a shrill screech echoes through the night.
Andie freezes, latching onto my elbow. ‘What the hell was that?!’
I chuckle, linking my arm in hers. ‘Just a bat.’
She turns to me, her amber eyes wide. ‘Lions and tigers and bats, oh my!’
I have no idea what she’s saying half the time, but I also can’t get enough of it.
‘From The Wizard of Oz ,’ she adds.
I snort. ‘Right, of course. Another favourite.’ I am actually familiar with that one.
The path narrows, and I regrettably have to drop her arm so we can walk single file to squeeze past the overgrown bushes.
I’m behind Andie as she pulls her phone from her bag and angles it over her face.
‘Need my assistance with more professional nature photography?’ I tease.
She pauses for a beat. ‘No thanks. Just checking my messages.’
‘Ah, so you know, the reception on this side of the island isn’t always the best.’
‘Really? Okay. Thanks.’ If her laughter is like a tonic, then her voice now has the opposite effect.
As she re-pockets her phone, I’m debating if it’s overstepping to ask what’s on her mind when a pair of golf carts with souped-up wheels whizz past, and I pull her off the road.
‘Watch out, guys!’ I shout to the party up ahead, and they scramble into the bushes just in time to avoid the reckless drivers.
‘Where are they going in such a hurry?’ Andie huffs, brushing off leaves from her dress. She’s swapped her cute picnic-blanket dress from earlier for another equally appealing summer dress. I’ve struggled to keep my eyes off her perfectly curved shoulders all evening.
‘Clam Cove Resort,’ I say as we keep walking, trying to keep my voice even.
‘I didn’t realise there was a resort here?’
‘Yeah, it’s pretty new.’
A strange expression flits across Andie’s face.
I frown. What has she heard?
‘Shit! Tay, are you okay?!’ she exclaims, suddenly pitching forward.
I hurry after her and spot Taylor wedged in a bush off the side of the road, swallowed by branches and leaves. The rest of the group has carried on without her.
Instinctively, I reach down to pull Taylor free, and as I lift her up, Andie bumps into her, pressing her firmly against my chest.
At first, I assume it’s an accident, but when I look up, Andie has dashed off ahead.
Bewildered, I’m left holding Taylor close, watching the back of Andie’s head bobbing away in the distance.