16. JJ Woodford
JJ WOODFORD
D aisy’s hand creeps along the open café table as we sit outside on the beachfront, her fingernails gingerly brush mine. They’re painted a rich Barbie pink and are pointy at the ends.
“I’m so happy you agreed to come out with me.” She props her chin onto a fist and flutters those dark eyelashes at me. “I was starting to get worried.”
I flash her a smile. Why did I listen to what Ivy said? Oh, probably because she’s going out with Isaac, and you decided to be bitter about it.
“I didn’t hear from you yesterday.” I clear my throat. “I thought you might have changed your mind.”
Daisy’s lips stretch into a wide grin. “Did I not make it clear enough how much I wanted to go out with you?”
“Yeah.” Maybe a little too much.
“So.” She grips my fingers with those claws and draws my attention back to her. “I heard back from a job that I applied for.”
“Yeah?”
Daisy nods, dark curls slipping past her narrow shoulders. “Said that my interview was good and they want me to come in to do a group interview, see how well I mix with other people.”
“Congrats. Which one was this for?”
“It’s for a marketing company that works with specialised sports.”
My eyebrows raise. “That’s cool.”
Her eyes glimmer in my direction as she roams them across my face and exhales a long sigh.
I shift in my seat. “So, tell me about your university degree,” I say, because I need her to talk about something before she brings those googly eyes back.
“Well…” She trails off, and I prepare to listen.
A gust of wind ripples through the air as I glance along the beachfront where people are strolling with fluorescent beach towels over their shoulders, and sunburnt noses. Daisy is still talking, and I’m picking up on every other word as best as I can.
My eyes wander from person to person until they fall on a familiar face.
Isaac .
My gaze shoots to the person next to him, blonde hair half tied up in a messy bun. She’s wearing the cutest ribbed dress with short sleeves and socks and trainers.
Isaac says something that has Ivy cackling, and both of them have ice cream cups in their hands. I study Isaac’s gaze as it’s locked on Ivy. He’s not just looking at her, he’s beaming.
And I can read that look from a million miles away. Because he likes her.
Ivy’s lips move, and Isaac grins. A part of me wishes I could be a fly on the wall in their conversation, but I’m too far away to hear anything. I don’t even realise that my fist has clenched on the table until Daisy clears her throat.
“Everything okay?” she asks hesitantly.
I drag my eyes back to her and relax my hand. “Yeah,” I rasp. “All good.”
Daisy hums. “So yeah, that’s where I’m up to with my degree.”
And I have no recollection of our one-sided conversation. “Sounds good.” I force another smile. “Things are looking good for you.”
“Hopefully.” She sinks her teeth into her lip.
“What’s going on between Ivy and that Isaac guy?”
She blinks at my question and pulls back.
I clear my throat and rest my elbows on the table. “Because of what Finn said at the barbecue. He wouldn’t have reacted like that if it wasn’t serious, right?”
Her hand brushes those long locks across her back again.
“I mean, they’ve been close since school.
They lost touch when Ivy left for a few years, but I know how bad Isaac had it for her.
He never really told her or anything, but now I guess he’s got that confidence he didn’t have before. But who knows what might happen.”
“Didn’t Ivy like him in school?”
Daisy shrugs. “Ivy was quite… shy at school. She was reserved, and I don’t think she felt like she was good enough. Which I don’t understand because to me, she’s beautiful. But everyone has their own flaws and insecurities.”
She’s not the only one who thinks she’s beautiful.
I glance back over at where Isaac and Ivy were standing, but they’re nowhere to be seen. My eyes fixate on Daisy’s again, but this time she’s studying me.
“Look, JJ,” she starts, “I know you and Ivy met before she came home.”
My eyes blink quicker than the speed of light. She told her about us? And she was still happy for her best friend to try her luck with me? My head aches .
“I’d never tell Finn or anything, don’t worry.” Her hand comes back to caress my wrist. “I guess you guys knew that nothing would come of it. Ivy made that very clear to me.”
I hate that my heart twitches at her words, bruising my ego because I thought what we shared was somewhat special, even if it only lasted one night.
Maybe I am delusional.
“Yeah, I suppose,” I mutter.
“So, what’s your usual type?”
“I don’t really have a type,” I lie.
“Not even Ivy?”
I shrug. “No.”
I don’t even know why I said it because she is. She doesn’t need to tick boxes next to certain traits and features, I just know she’s my type because of how I felt when I was with her. Before I brought her back to my apartment, we were in the bar talking for hours on end, like time didn’t exist.
“Oh.” Daisy’s cheeks darken. “Would you say I’m more your type?”
My teeth graze my bottom lip as I study her carefully. She’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but she doesn’t make my stomach flip like someone else does.
“Sure,” I say through a forced smile, even though the word burns my tongue.
I don’t want to upset the girl, but I have no idea what else to say.
I sit here for another hour or so, listening to Daisy and her endless rambling, but I tell myself to listen when my brain wants to ponder.
Soon after we say our goodbyes, I head home alone. When I reach the house, I find Finn adjusting his shirt in the mirror, slowly remembering that he got a job at a local restaurant.
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye as I shut the door behind me. “Hey,” he calls out and tucks in his shirt to his black lined trousers. “How was your date?”
“Fine,” I mumble and walk straight towards the kitchen.
I latch onto the fridge door and haul it open, searching for something sweet to drink. “Just fine?” Finn’s voice sounds deflated as I grab a can of Diet Coke and crack the lid.
I slump my back against the counter as I meet his eyes. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Hmm.” He narrows his eyes. “What happened?”
“Not much.”
Finn’s eyes hold my stare before he backs away and holds his hands up in defence. “Alright, whatever. I’ve got to go to work. I’ll be back sometime tonight.”
“Bye,” I say as I watch him leave.
The front door opens a few moments later and Ivy emerges in that little green dress that clings to her hips. I can’t even look as she strolls in because it grates on me knowing that Isaac got to enjoy her today—her company, her face, her laughter.
She’s smiling as she walks in, even when she locks eyes with me.
“Hey,” she says cheerily before dumping her bag onto the sofa.
“Hi,” I say.
“You okay?”
I hum. “Yeah, you?”
Ivy sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. “Yeah, I’m great.”
I watch as she walks away, heading upstairs with a spring in her step, wishing I had been on that date with her instead.