13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
E very Thursday after training during the summer, we had club nights. We hung out, complained about how hard our sessions had been, and different members cooked each week.
Usually, it was my favorite social event because it was effortless, everyone there without the hassle of having to make plans, and it was so cheap everyone always hung around. We all chipped in to cover the food costs, and any money raised in addition went to the club, so it was a glorious win win win, and I loved it. Apart from today because, Andrew.
The knots in my stomach pulled tighter with every step towards the clubhouse, anxiety gnawing at me as I worried about what I should do and say when I saw him. This morning he’d sent me a text with a picture of a coffee cup, the message saying it wasn’t a patch on the coffee in my café, and my heart had swelled as I’d typed out my reply.
Miri 08:12: You might have a Miri’s in your neighborhood soon …
Andrew 08:12: I hope so.
I hadn’t yet decided if I wanted the salon and cafe, something worrying at my guts, something not feeling quite right, but I was rarely gung-ho about anything, always too aware of the risks, so maybe I should just go for it. In any case, I would have to decide soon or it would be gone, as Paul had reminded me in his email that morning, and then again in a text this afternoon.
Urgh. One problem at a time . And tonight’s problem was that the eyes of the club would be on Andrew and me. Again . My crew had been asking probing questions since my family reunion, but it had been easy to deflect by text. Not so simple in the flesh.
I reached the clubhouse to find Hazel approaching the door carrying an enormous saucepan, the lid perched on top at a precarious angle—she and Ottie were on food duty—and I hurried forward to hold open the door.
‘You look nice,’ said Hazel, cocking an eyebrow.
Wigwam. Urgh! I didn’t. Not really. I was wearing jeans and a shirt, but I’d blow-dried my hair, and seeing as almost everyone else would be clad in sweaty workout clothes, by comparison, I was all dolled up. I’d even considered wearing makeup, but had quickly cast that idea aside as ridiculous. Everyone would take the piss if I did.
‘You too,’ I said, because Hazel was wearing a cute, floaty summer dress and not her usual spandex. I remembered Andrew’s remark about Noah and Hazel and wondered if something was going on between them. ‘Anyone you’re trying to impress?’ I added, then watched her like a hawk.
She laughed as she passed through the open bar hatch and made for the kitchen, her back to me so I couldn’t see her expression. Damnations; I should have planned that better . ‘I wish,’ she said, heaving the pot onto the stove. ‘Now, Miss Catering Genius, how much rice do I need to go with this chili?’
I helped her put the rice on, and then Ottie showed up with a veggie chili and a ton of garlic bread. I vacated the kitchen because it was too small for three, and Ottie was stressing about whether all the garlic bread would fit in the oven.
I bought a gin and tonic from the veteran rower on duty behind the bar, then joined Belle and Livia on the patio, Livia lying on the ground, panting hard, and Belle leaning back in her chair, her flushed face turned towards the sky.
‘Good run?’ I asked, dropping into the seat beside Belle.
‘I. Hate. Running,’ gasped Livia. ‘I’m a rower, not a runner. I’m not built for this shit.’
Belle chuckled. ‘We threw in a few hill sprints just for fun.’
‘I don’t mind those,’ Livia wheezed. ‘Sprinting’s fine, it’s the rest of it I could do without.’
‘Feels good though,’ said Belle.
‘If you say so,’ Livia said skeptically.
We chatted as crews came in off the water, soaking up the sun as the clubhouse filled with novices, veterans, and coaches, but no sign yet of Andrew.
The appearance of each new boat coming into land made my heart give a hopeful little leap, but after many false alarms, I’d almost given up, wondering if the men’s first crew were even out on the water tonight. But then they finally appeared, floating gracefully alongside the pontoon, and my eyes took in Andrew’s sweaty, disheveled hair and pumped up shoulder muscles.
They got out and removed their blades with swift, practiced movements, their boat back on its rack only a minute or two later. Hannah, their cox, carried their blades up the ramp, and Pete and Noah helped her put them away.
‘Hi gals!’ said an exuberant male voice, as Seb, the fifth member of the men’s senior squad, lowered himself into the chair by my side. He’d been out on the water in a single scull while the others trained in the four, as he didn’t currently have a permanent seat in the boat.
‘Coincidence you turned up just as that lot are strutting about?’ said Livia, giving him a knowing smile as she peeled herself off the floor and dropped into a chair.
‘Don’t be gross,’ said Seb. ‘They’re like brothers to me.’
‘Uh huh,’ said Livia, skeptically. ‘ All of them?’ She squeezed his arm, but he swatted her away.
‘Do not put those dirty paws on my clean shirt. Some of us have showered.’ He gave her a pointed look.
Livia rolled her eyes. ‘You are not in the majority.’
‘Miri looks nice,’ said Seb, side eyeing me.
‘Miri hasn’t been training,’ countered Livia.
‘Hmmm,’ Seb narrowed his eyes at me, then asked in a suggestive tone, ‘what is it Miri has been doing, then?’
‘Um …’ I was pretty sure the enquiry related to Andrew, but luckily, before I’d floundered for too long, Ottie yelled, ‘Food’s ready!’ from inside. Seeing as not much could keep rowers from food—or at least, not the heavyweights—a crowd surged for the bar.
‘Thank goodness,’ said Livia. ‘My stomach was starting to eat itself. Belle and I will get the food. You guys guard the seats.’ She didn’t wait for us to agree to her plan, instead launching herself through the open doors and sending Belle a hurry up look when she took too long to follow.
Belle dutifully got to her feet, although she threw in an eyeroll.
‘Soooo,’ said Seb, the moment we were alone.
‘Such lovely weather we’re having, don’t you think? Hopefully it holds for the regatta this weekend.’
He gave me a shark-like smile. ‘Nice try, Miri, if a little amateurish. Now spill: what’s going on between you and Andrew?’
I fixed him with a long look. ‘What’s going on between you and Noah?’ I countered.
Seb scowled and leaned back in his chair, casting his eyes towards where his crew were debriefing in front of the boathouse. ‘Nothing. We … well … whatever might have happened didn’t, and now it’s over.’
‘Why?’ I pressed because Seb was an insensitive beast, and he could take it. To be fair, most of us lacked empathy and boundaries and restraint.
‘Oh no, lovie. I told you mine, now you tell me yours.’
I sighed but relented; it was only fair. ‘As of right now, there’s nothing to tell.’
‘But you want him?’
‘You first.’
Seb tilted his head in defeat then turned his eyes to the river. ‘I can’t tell you details because Noah wouldn’t want me to.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Does he like someone else?’
Seb visibly bristled.
‘Sorry. That was … sorry.’
‘For that you get a double turn. Do you want to climb Andrew like a monkey?’ His eyes flashed salaciously.
I gasp-laughed. ‘Seb! You can’t say things like that!’
He leaned forward and rested his chin on his fist, his features sporting a look that said, spill .
But I was saved by the return of Livia and Belle with our food. ‘Yum, thank you!’ I said, throwing Seb a triumphant smile, but Livia’s hand slipped as she passed me my plate, and my garlic bread fell off the edge and landed in a patch of gritty, sandy stones.
‘Instant karma,’ Seb muttered as he accepted his own plate from Belle.
‘Oh, shit, sorry.’ Livia put her plate on her seat. ‘I’ll get you another one.’
‘No need,’ said a voice from behind us. A deep, commanding voice that made my stomach clench. ‘I’m going to get food; I’ll get some.’
‘Thanks, Andrew,’ said Livia, flashing me a knowing smile as she returned to her seat.
Seb leaned towards me. ‘I think I can take the color of your cheeks as confirmation.’
I scowled, then accepted the cutlery Belle held out for me and turned my attention to my plate. But my appetite had fled, so after a few bites, I just pushed it around, waiting in dreadful anticipation for the moment Andrew would return. Everyone would watch us. Would they make jokes? Where was Andrew going to sit?
‘Give it to me!’ Theo’s voice through the open doors sounded pissed, and we all turned as one to find out what was going on.
‘No,’ Andrew replied calmly, holding whatever Theo wanted away from him.
‘You’ve already got one!’
‘So have you.’
‘Mine’s an end piece. You’ve got two middle pieces. Come on, man, there’s none left!’
‘No,’ Andrew repeated, then shoulder barged Theo out of the way when he refused to let Andrew past.
‘You are such a dick,’ said Theo, following Andrew out onto the patio.
Andrew dropped the second piece of garlic bread onto my plate then took the chair beside Belle, seeming not to have heard Theo’s insult.
‘Thanks,’ I murmured, not able to look anyone in the eye.
‘Oh for fuck’s sake!’ Theo whirled and stormed back inside. ‘You’re so whipped.’
Andrew chuckled as Belle said, ‘Classic male posturing.’ Then she turned to me. ‘Are you hitting peak fertility?’
Livia barked a laugh as my mouth dropped open, and Andrew’s fork stopped in midair.
‘Yes, Miri, do tell,’ said Seb, turning to me with mischievous delight shining in his eyes.
‘Move over!’ said Ottie, approaching us with a chair in one hand and a plate in the other. Hazel was only a step behind with a chair of her own. And then Noah, Pete, and Hannah were joining us, too, leading to a full seating reshuffle. I took Belle’s plate as she helped rearrange, and by the time we were all settled in a circle, everyone had mercifully forgotten about the state of my fertility.
‘How’s the search for a premises?’ Ottie asked from her seat opposite mine.
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I saw a place yesterday in Portico, but I’m not sure it’s quite right.’
‘Good!’ said Livia. ‘Selfishly, I want it to be here by the river.’
I laughed. ‘Me too! So if you could boot one of the other shop owners out and make them sell to me for a reasonable price, that would be awesome.’
Livia turned to Seb. ‘Don’t you know anyone? You’re a property agent.’
‘A residential property agent,’ he replied with a long-suffering forehead furrow, ‘but I can ask around.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, ‘that would be great.’
He shrugged as though it were nothing, while somehow simultaneously suggesting I should worship him until the end of time.
‘Why don’t you like the Portico one?’ asked Hazel. ‘It’s a great area.’
‘I know,’ I said slowly, ‘but it’s a big project, and I’m worried about the financial projections. I’ve been modelling different scenarios, but I’m not sure it’s quite right … I feel like I might be missing something.’
‘I can help,’ said Andrew, lounging back in his chair, his legs spread a little, the defined ridges of his torso visible through his tee. He looked good enough to eat.
I couldn’t decipher the expression on his face as everyone’s eyes turned to him, and then to me, a loaded silence stretching as they waited for my answer.
‘He is pretty much the spreadsheet king,’ said Livia, waggling her eyebrows, her tone conveying so much more than her words.
‘Uhhhh, yeah, thanks, that would be great. If you’re sure you don’t mind?’ I looked past his left shoulder, my face burning.
‘I want to help,’ he said, taking me aback with … was that irritation in his tone? My eyes flicked to his, which contained some emotion I couldn’t name. ‘We all do.’
‘Ooo, yes!’ sang Ottie. ‘I’d love to get my paint brush out. Just say the word!’
‘And I can help with the refit,’ said Noah.
I narrowed my eyes at Andrew, whose face contained a smug, devilish look I hadn’t seen on him before. ‘Come over tomorrow night and I can take a look then.’
My heart stuttered as the entire group looked at me with expressions that I’m sure would have been comical if I hadn’t been the one on the receiving end. ‘Uh, sure, thanks,’ I said with a tight smile. ‘Sounds good.’