The Great Australian Escape

Cliff

Koby’s party was anything but a small affair. The only small thing about it was his back garden, where Felicity found herself crammed along with what seemed to be the entire district of Maroubra and then some. The music was loud and the laughter even louder. The booze was hard, and the journey to the loo even harder.

“Jeez, you must have him wrapped around your little finger!"

  "Sorry?" Felicity said, turning around to the voice that had interrupted her from picking her way through the snack table.

Reaching around her to pick up a cube of cheese, Dakota, Koby’s little brother, raised his eyebrows at her, "Jess hasn't brought a girl along to a party since he was like, 16? 17?"

Felicity's eyebrows sprung into her hairline. "What, no, we're not...We're friends...and colleagues, I guess now. I definitely don't have him wrapped around my finger - he just invited me because he knows I know Koby and thought it'd be cool for me to meet everyone, I guess." She replied, looking at him pointedly. Her and Dakota bad become rather well acquainted in the past few months, having run into him a fair few times down at Maroubra Beach.

Dakota smirked at her. "Right yeah. That's it." 

Felicity nodded awkwardly before ducking away behind a group of tall, brawny men to make her way towards the front of the house, where the crowd was a little more diluted. Her eyes rolled back in her head when she spotted Jesse leaning against the front door, his arms crossed and his head thrown back in laughter. He was talking to a short brunette, whose hand was gently touching his arm. Felicity clenched her jaw and edged past them, barely glancing at Jesse, as she stepped out onto the porch. She can't have been out there for more than 30 seconds when Jesse came to stand next to her, shoulder to shoulder, as they leaned against the bannister. There was a long silence in which they stared out at the sparkling, still water of the ocean across the road, some loud rap song pulsating through their veins from the open door. 

“You alright?” he asked, tilting his head towards Felicity without taking his eyes off the water.

 Felicity nodded, “Yeah, just, you know, getting a little overwhelmed in there. I’m not drunk enough to handle that many people.” She chuckled slightly, running her fingers through her hair.

 “We can go home if you like?” Jesse asked, “I mean, I can drop you home, if you want. I didn’t mean to, like, go home together. I –“ he sputtered, turning towards her nervously.

“I know what you meant.” Felicity smiled, “It’s alright, you’re with your mates here, and I don’t think I’ll leave just yet – I’m just taking a breather, and then I’ll dive right back into all the craziness.” 

“I’m sorry, I know I sort of just jumped this whole thing on you,” Jesse continued, turning back to the water, “I know that you usually spend your Saturdays trying to coordinate something with your family, and I know that personally I hate having to go to stuff without being mentally prepared, so really, if you want to go home, let me know.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, a small smirk tugging at the side of her mouth, “I’m starting to think you’re trying to get rid of me, here.”

“No, no, no, no!” Jesse sputtered quickly, whipping around to face here again, his hand reaching out to touch her arm, but he retracted it before it even made contact, “It’s just that I know what the boys can be like, and I know that this sort of music probably isn’t your thing at all, and I told you it would just be a small thing, but it’s obviously not and just, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Felicity didn’t reply to Jesse. The night air was crisp and sharp in her lungs. The wind was shifting the huge leaves in the palm trees, and the headlights of the passing cars ahead of them were blurry and bright. Feeling the wood grain of the bannister beneath her fingertips, she couldn’t help but feel like she was in some hyper-realistic, beautifully shot, coming of age movie by one of the Hollywood greats. It was one of those moments where both nothing and everything is happening. She’d been at countless parties just like this before, where too many people had shown up, too much was drunk, and some idiot was in charge of the music selection. On many occasions she had found herself standing out on the balcony, or sitting on the front steps. She had often watched the sun rise with a beer bottle dangling from her fingers, or danced until she saw stars. But standing on the decking with Jesse at God only knows what hour felt more real than any of those experiences combined.