Chapter 18 #2
“There are one or two happy memories,” he says.
“Yeah?”
“This one time, on my seventh birthday, Mum bought me a twenty dollar watermelon.” “Twenty dollars for a… ? Two decades ago?”
“Freight makes everything expensive out there. Even a small pumpkin costs nine dollars. But at the time, that melon was the best thing I'd ever tasted.”
“And that was your birthday present?”
“Yup. She stole the money out of Dad's pocket while he was passed out. Then we waited til he'd buggered off to the pokies, and ran down to the farmer's stall to buy one. Had to eat it all in one day so he wouldn't find out.”
Marco is beaming ear to ear.
I’m not quite sure what to say.
So instead I pull out my phone, adding a quick note to the reminders.
“September third,” I type out loud. “Find... best watermelon... in Queensland.”
He corners me with an amused look on his face.
“September third?”
Oops. Kind of awkward.
“Well,” I explain. “When I asked… you told me that you weren’t really a fan of birthdays. So I might have taken a peek at your driver’s license when it was on the table. I was planning to ignore your rule and surprise you anyway.”
He suppresses a laugh.
“I’ve gotta keep an eye on you.”
My smile is mischievous, but I have no regrets.
My finger traces along the darkened silhouette of the mountains.
“This little pocket of paradise is really yours?” I ask.
Once again, he shrugs it off.
For a cocky brat who runs an empire, he’s humble in ways that never cease to surprise me.
“I can never stay away from this view for long. When I started freelancing, I used to rent this cabin every couple of months. Sometimes more if I was going through a rough patch. A few years ago Pete and Margot put it on the market, and I couldn't let it slip through my fingers.”
He turns to gesture at his handiwork.
“Knocked out the wall to add that huge window along the side. Gave it a bit of a spruce up, with a new kitchen and bathroom. Thankfully, Astra Luna was thriving by then.”
“Astra Luna?” I tease. “Isn't that place run by some devastatingly hot, bossy man?”
He nudges my shoe playfully.
“Depends who you ask.”
My hand settles on his waist.
“You inspire me, you know that? You hopped off a bus with nothing but a backpack and a notebook. And now here you are. You've built everything you ever dreamed of.”
“Almost,” he replies.
Perhaps there’s a missing piece to his puzzle.
Someone he still misses.
Someone who was meant to leave Jundah with him.
“And I couldn't have done it alone,” he says.
“Beth?”
“Beth… and friends. And now, you.”
“Friends like Porter?”
A familiar jealousy rises in my chest, but I push it aside.
“Porter was one of them,” he nods.
“Guess someone had to keep an eye on you,” I grin. “Trouble maker arriving in the big smoke.”
He gives a cheeky shrug.
We throw pebbles for a moment, watching the ripples spread across the water.
Then my curiosity gets the better of me.
“You don’t have to tell me, but…”
“Mmm?”
He rubs the back of my neck.
“Porter was someone who made you feel safe when you got to the city. He looked after you?”
“Yeah. He was a total rock when I first arrived.”
Fuck, I shouldn’t be asking this.
Maybe I won’t like the answer.
If it were some abstract name, someone I’d never met, perhaps it would feel different.
But I’m an idiot, so I ask.
“And… you two fell in love?”
Marco’s expression warms slightly.
“We did.”
I take a small step back.
“Was he your first?”
His smile is awkward but nostalgic.
The answer lands between us like a brick.
“Yeah. He was.”
I look away.
My feelings are muddled.
Uncertainty, insecurity, a flicker of envy.
Even though I also once had a first love.
A first kiss.
A first time.
Who am I to deny him that?
Tread carefully, I warn myself.
“Can I ask… what happened between you two?”
◆◆◆
He takes me by the hand, leading me back to the pit.
Adding more wood to the fire, we take a seat.
His eyes are patient but his tone is flirty.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he sighs.
Jealous? Was I that obvious?
“How about I make you a deal,” Marco suggests. “You tell me about your first love. And I’ll tell you about mine.”
He traces the outline of the inky teardrop on my arm.
He’s just as curious about my past.
I close my eyes for a second.
“You really want all the juicy details?”
“Do it,” he says. “It's only fair that you make me jealous too. Even though the thought of someone else with you…”
I interrupt him with a kiss, whispering reassurance.
“It was a long time ago. I’m yours now.”
I can tell by the way he’s sitting that he’s bracing himself for the worst.
Leaning close, I try to soothe him.
“You and me,” I whisper.
“You and me,” he echoes.
I take a minute to gather my thoughts.
Deep breath.
Here goes.
“I was eighteen. My first love was Jake.”
It’s a name I haven’t said out loud in years.
“His family were French. His mum named him Jacques, but he hated it. We did the same art major at college. That’s when it became more serious.
But I'd been crushing hard since we were in high school together. We used to have sleep overs in my back yard, and I’d zip our sleeping bags together so we could give each other hand jobs. Sorry, I shouldn’t have...”
“It's okay,” Marco smiles. “Keep going.”
His voice is kind and encouraging.
So I let the memory unfold.
“We were together for about four years, not counting the high school stuff. I mean… as boyfriends. I used to stay at their beach house with his parents every summer. They caught us fucking in the pool shed.”
To my surprise, he seems a little turned on by this.
“That’s kind of hot. Did they know Jake was..?”
“Nope.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, super awkward. Didn’t stop us from dating though.”
I can feel my cheeks turn red.
“How did they know you were in there?” he asks.
“Guess we were being a little too loud.”
Marco leans back in his chair, still grinning.
“Amos Vale being loud?”
He mouths the word never.
I nudge his knee with mine.
This isn’t as scary as I thought it would be.
It’s kind of intimate actually, confiding in him about my horny awakening.
But only because he’s being so good about it.
“Not my finest moment,” I admit. “We had to be more discreet after that.”
“Honestly? It sounds romantic.”
“It was. Being with him was the first time I ever fell that hard for someone. I only let one other guy close after that. Peter. But he was more interested in women. Married one eventually.”
I study the flames as they dance in tandem.
“And yes, I loved Jake. Very much. Hurt like hell when it fell to pieces. Guess everyone thinks that when they’re young.”
Marco laces our fingers together, taking it all in.
“What happened? I mean, you don't have to…”
But I let the words flow.
“After we graduated, I came home early and found him kissing someone else in our bed. And I don't like to share.”
He lifts my hand to his cheek, closing his eyes for a moment.
Perhaps he’s no stranger to this depth of pain.
His words are hushed when he says it.
“Jake and Peter must be kicking themselves for fumbling the hottest man alive.”
“Let them,” I smile. “I'm exactly where I want to be.”
Pulling Marco onto my lap, I tousle with his shirt.
The kiss grows heated.
He loosens the button on my jeans.
But then, I remember.
“Baby…”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook.”
His hand hovers inside my pants.
“No?”
“You promised you'd tell me about Porter.”
His smile is sheepish.
“Sure you wanna hear it?”
“Spill,” I bluff. “I'd rather know than be left in the dark.”