“Hi.” Lee leaned forward, shaking all their hands.
What a gentleman. I loved him. He gave me the warm and fuzzies.
Ben, on the other hand, he gave me the hot and heavies. He just nodded as his brother tugged on his shirt, Adam’s attention aimed down the street.
Time to go. “Well, it was lovely to meet you, Tish. We might see you tonight. Or at a game sometime.”
“I can’t come tonight, but I’ll definitely come say hi at the next game.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
A silver Volvo pulled up to the curb. I hadn’t registered that the tingle on the back of my neck had stopped until the car arrived and the sensation returned with a vengeance. My shoulders jerked as a shiver raced down my spine. What the heck is going on today?
“Here’s mum. Come on, midget. Gotta go.” Lee opened the back door for his little sister before hopping in the front.
Midget. Cute.
“We’d better go, too. See you in dance.” Pauline strode off with Kate and Jess, waving as they went.
“Bye.” I spun back and smiled at Bree. “You ready?”
She nodded.
I tapped Will on the shoulder. “Mr Matey?”
His grin vanished. “You said you wouldn’t call me that anymore.”
Shit. “Aargh, sorry. I forgot.”
Adam snorted. “Mr Matey.”
Ben tapped the back of Adam’s head. “Don’t start, bug.”
“Bug?” Will laughed. “Bug!”
I rolled my eyes. Jeez, eight-year-old boys. “Okay, okay. Enough. Let’s go.”
Ben stepped beside me. “Do you mind if we walk together? Your dad’s place is on the way to ours.”
There was a God. Sorry I ever doubted. “No worries.”
It’s cool.
We’re cool.
I’m cool.
Breathe in, breathe out.
I licked my lips and wiped the sweat off my brow. The acrobat in my chest had recruited a buddy, my small intestine, and they were practising their trapeze act right about now. Oh, my God. Do. Not. Vomit. I wrapped an arm around my middle.
“Are you okay?” Ben eyed me with concern.
“Huh? Oh, yep. Just indigestion.”
Will and Adam took off running and my gut surged for a different reason. “Boys! This isn’t a playground. There are cars everywhere. Slow down and stay close.”
They both stopped and looked over their shoulders, laughing before speed walking ahead.
“I’ll go after them,” Bree offered, skipping away.
“Thanks.” Grunting, I clutched my stomach as a cramp set in. Ow. It wasn’t that time of the month.What the hell?
“You’re not a fan of rugby, are you?”
I tilted my head, eyeing Ben sideways. “Why do you say that?”
“You didn’t seem happy to be at the game the last time I saw you.”
“It’s more to do with being forced to watch my brother do anything for a couple of hours.” I braced my hands on my hips and clenched my teeth through another cramp. “It’s not my idea of fun.”
“Obviously. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Y-ep. To-tally fine.” I clamped my mouth shut and blew out through my nose as the vision of me with a huge stomach flashed back in my mind. It was like I was pregnant. Either that or I’d eaten fifty-dozen doughnuts.
My hands fell loose at my sides as the pain eased. Ah, much better.
Ben pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes. “Okay.” Hooking his thumbs under his bag straps, he turned his focus forward.
Okay? Maybe he didn’t believe me? Maybe he was letting the white lie slide and giving me time to recover. He wasn’t walking off ahead. He could’ve caught up to the boys, but he matched me step for step. Why?
We turned the corner, silence our awkward companion. Fifty metres. One hundred metres. Jesus, I hadn’t been this quiet since I was a baby. Actually, scrap that. Mum told me that I constantly babbled from day one.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“I know.” His hands flexed, but his gaze didn’t deviate.
Okay. “You’re a great conversationalist. I haven’t been this stimulated in a long time. I think we should talk more often. Why don’t we exchange numbers? That way we can tell each other all about our day before we go to sleep and I can dissect yours and you can dissect mine and we can learn and grow from each other. It’ll make us better people. What do you think?”
“I think your indigestion has gone.” He watched me, reining in a smile.
I did a double take. His eyes were brown. My jaw loosened. What? I blinked. Nope, they’re blue.
Turning away, I licked my lips. I am losing my shit.
“Are you looking forward to tubing on the river tomorrow?”
Come again? “Uh, am I s’posed to be?”
“Yeah, didn’t Stewart tell you?”
I am going to kick his arse. “Spew and I only exchange insults. You’d know this if we talked more. Seriously, what’s your number?”
“It’s in the phone book. We’re taking Geoff’s boat out tomorrow. You, Stewart and Bree, and Lee and Tish are coming too. I don’t know if Mum got permission from your dad for Will to come. I thought if he was home now I could ask him myself. Adam would love it if he came.”
Why hadn’t Mum told me about this? Now it made sense why Ben had decided to walk home with us. He wanted to talk to my dad.
“We only just organised it last night. Your mum said it was cool.” He looked unsure.
“Oh, nah, yeah. It sounds great.” Crap, I hope my togs still fit.Which ones should I wear? The pink two-piece with the frills? Or the green one-piece that rides up my butt crack every time I move? I’ll either flash my stomach or my arse. I choose stomach. Pink it is. I’ll wear a T-shirt on top. What about food? Are we bringing our own lunch? What time are we meeting and where?
