Falling in love with your best mate's sister

Chapter 11: Living together

"Tracey! You gotta leave the clothes in there for the full 3 hour cycle!" Jack Ginnivan yelled, barging into the laundry room.

Tracey paused as she was taking the clothes from the dryer. "They're dry," she said, baffled.

"And I want them drier," Ginni said, quickly shoving the dryer closed and switching it back on. He watched them go round and round with glee.

"Won't they just shrink?" Tracey asked, eyeing her boyfriend in his tight tank top and Calvin Klein underwear.

Ginni smiled wryly. "This used to be a T-shirt," he said, idly fingering the hem of his top.

Tracey smiled. "I'm impressed," she said, and waltzed from the laundry room, holding her clothes. "These are still dry though and I'm putting them away."

"Great!" Ginni yelled after her. "Mine will be better!"

"No way!" Tracey called back.

"We'll see about that," Ginni muttered mostly to himself. Everything about living together with a partner was about competition. Who cooked the best meals, who did laundry better, they even had arguments over cleaning the bathroom.

Making his way to the kitchen, Ginni grabbed his favourite saucepan. "I'm going to start dinner!" he called out, smugly.

"No, we've still got leftover soup I made yesterday!" Tracey shouted back. "We have to use it by today."

Ginni shuddered. Not the soup. He never wanted to see a silverbeet again in his life. "Sure, darling, that sounds yum," he said confidently.

Tracey breezed into the kitchen, right as Ginni was making gagging noises. "You okay, sweetie?" she asked, concerned.

"Mm, everything's good," Ginni said, putting away the saucepan and grabbing his girlfriend by the waist. "Dance with me."

"Sure," she said, giggling, as Ginni twirled her around the kitchen. "What are we dancing to?"

"The Thong Song," Ginni said, without missing a beat, and guided Tracey's feet through the dance steps that he had created with Trent during long hours at the football club.

"I love that song," Tracey gushed.

Ginni's heart soared. He'd had to drag Trent into the dance routine. It was nice to meet someone who felt the same way he did about good music. "I love you," Ginni breathed.

Tracey let out a breath, almost stepping on Ginni's toes. "I..." she said, breathless, and decided to just go for it. Ride the momentum. "I love you."

They both grinned at each other, halting their footwork, both of them with pink cheeks and starry eyes.

Neither wanted to break the silence but they both blurted things at the same time.

"Dryer's beeped, your clothes will be finished shrinking."

"I don't like the soup."

Ginni paused, face going red, and scampered to the dryer. He just prayed she hadn't heard his complaints about the soup.