The next morning I am awoken by the sudden commotion of plates and cutlery banging downstairs.
God. Can Em be any louder unloading the dishwasher? I think as I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom, splashing my face with water.
The rest of the night went well with James.
He went home not long after the movie finished, with us having a bit of a chat, before he decided it was best to head home, as it was getting late.
Not gonna lie, I did go to bed thinking about him. And how good our life would be together. I did do a bit of fantasising, picturing us living in our own house, cuddled up on the couch watching tv, whether it be a movie or a tv show, or something that is playing on normal tv.
We'd be in each other's company and never be apart. And honestly, my heart aches for that.
But James did promise me one more date, so I will have to try and not tell James how I'm feeling until the end.
Truth is, I am falling for him, have been for months now.
I can't even try to deny it now because my feelings are just so strong for him. If this happened a year ago with James, I would've jumped right into the deep end, and wanted to get into a relationship with him ASAP.
But, we both said we'd take it slow, so that's what we're doing.
Actually, I said that he has to take me out on three dates to try and convince me why he's not like Josh, and won't break my heart, but in other words it's taking it slow.
I walk downstairs and am greeted by Em and Marcus who just smirk at me when I enter the space.
"Here we go." I say taking a seat at the bench whilst they both walk over to me.
"So." Marcus says.
"Did you guys kiss?" Em asks finishing his sentence and I roll my eyes.
"No, we didn't. What is both of your obsession with James and I making out?" I ask and they both smile.
"We just want you to be happy Tahls." Em says and Marcus nods.
"And frankly, this is taking too long, you both like each other, just get together already."
"Doesn't work like that Marc." I say.
"It does, you're just paranoid." He says and I nod.
"True."
"But come on, surely he's convinced you he's not going to break your heart." Marcus says and I nod.
"He has, he definitely has. But he promised me three dates, so we will have three dates." I say and they both nod.
"Alright fine. But don't say that if I didn't walk in something would've happened." He says with a smirk and I stick the finger up at him.
"Nothing was going to happen. He was just wiping my face, as I explained to you yesterday!" I say and he laughs.
"Alright alright, just get ready for training, we're leaving in 10." He says and I roll my eyes as I get up and walk back upstairs, chucking on my bulldogs gear, before coming back downstairs and making myself something to eat.
"So what did he cook you?" Em asks and I smile.
"A calamari salad."
"Woah." Em says and Marcus raises an eyebrow.
"Was it good?" The oldest Bont asks and I nod.
"It was so fucking good. Best calamari salad I've ever eaten."
"Well, we're coming over to yours for dinner once you two are together." Marcus says and I laugh, but roll my eyes.
"Alright sure Marcus, whatever floats your boat." I say and he chuckles.
"We should probably get going hey." Marcus says looking at the time and I smile.
"You better, skipper can't be late." I say. "That wouldn't be setting a good example now would it?"
"No, it wouldn't." He says as he grabs his keys.
"Would you be able to wait 5 minutes to give me a lift too?" I ask and Marcus sighs, but nods.
"Of course, Naughts and Baz would kill me if I don't give you a lift."
"Oh they definitely will." I say, picking up my plate and walking over to the dishwasher, and chucking my plate in there, before running upstairs to brush my teeth.
Once that's done, I head back downstairs and walk out the front door, where Marcus and Em are waiting for me in the car.
"Surprised you didn't drive off." I say hopping in the backseat before Marcus reverses out of the driveway.
"Gee I'm not that rude." Marcus says whilst Em laughs.
"18 year old you would've just driven off without me." I say still holding a grudge from when he actually did that.
"Well you were taking too long and I was going to be late."
"WE WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOL YOU DIPSHIT."
"Yeah but you know I like arriving early."
"God, I had homeroom at 8:50, you could rock up at 9am if you wanted to." I say and he sighs.
"What are you two going on about?" Em asks, clearly confused.
"I drove off on Tahls cause she was taking too long to get ready for school."
"Marcus!" Em says. "That is so mean."
"I know." He says and I smile.
"So how did you end up getting to school?" Em turns around and asks me and I chuckle.
"Mum rang Marcus and he had to turn around and come back home to take me." I say and Em laughs.
"Ohhhhhh she really got ya there." Em says and I laugh.
"Yep, now he always waits for me." I say and Marcus rolls his eyes as we pull up into the carpark of the Whitten Oval, finding an empty car spot.
I get out of the car and walk in, where I am greeted by a couple of the boys.
"Tahlia, finally you're here." Baz says pulling me into a hug and I chuckle.
"You know my brother drives the speed limit."
"Bont does nothing wrong." Laith says and I nod, also giving him a hug.
"Where's my bestie at?" I ask them both and they shrug.
"Don't know, must be running late."
"Not good enough." I say and the two boys laugh.
"Heard you had a date with Mr Worpel last night, how'd it go?" Baz asks and I chuckle.
"God word gets around pretty fast here doesn't it?"
"Spreads like wildfire." Laith says and I nod.
"Literally. But no it was good."
"Any progress?" Baz asks and I laugh.
"I guess there has been yeah."
"Good, that's what I wanna hear, after all the shit you've been through, you deserve this." Baz says with a smile.
"You're too kind bazza." I say wrapping an arm around him and ruffling his hair and he smiles before placing a kiss on my cheek.
"You two make my heart burst." Em says walking over to us and I chuckle.
"Just want the best for her." Baz shrugs and I smile.
"Love you." I say and he smiles.
"Love you too."
"Oh my god, I heard you bought a new house." I say looking at Baz and he chuckles.
"I did."
"I need a house tour asap." I say and he laughs.
"You will get one don't worry, all the boys have made it clear that I'm hosting the next barbie."
"As you should." I say and he smiles. "Can you at least show me on like realestate or something?"
"Of course." He says grabbing his phone out of his pocket and showing me the house.
"Fuck Baz, that must've costed a fortune, not that it matters to you though cause you make good money."
"Yeah it wasn't cheap that's for sure. But what houses are cheap these days?"
"Not many. Hence why I still live with my brother."
"Not for long." Marcus chips in as he walks passed us, which makes Baz raise an eyebrow at me.
"He's just kidding, calm down, you're making it out like as if I'm gonna get married and pop out a kid next week." I say which makes him laugh.
"Well if you're not careful the last thing could happen." He shrugs and I slap him across the bicep, but flinch as his biceps must be made out of steel.
"I can't believe you would even assume that'll happen, cause it won't." I say and he laughs. "Are your biceps made out of fucking steel or something?"
"These bad boys?" He says flexing them and I roll my eyes.
"Yes them."
"Nah, I've worked for them." He says and I nod.
"No shit sher lock."
"You can't say that they're not hot." He says and I sigh.
"Oh they are, never said they weren't, but they're a bit intimidating when it's shoved in my face you know."
"Ohh right right, sorry." He says and I chuckle.
"You should probably get down to the ground, seems like the boys are gathering."
"You not helping out with drills today?"
"Nah, in the office with Em today, sorry."
"Aw."
"Sorry." I say and he smiles.
"It's alright, I'll just sneakily come and visit you and Em."
"Sure and get the three of us in trouble, smart one." I say as he begins to walk away.
"Also you need a haircut baz!" I yell which in return he sticks the finger up at me before walking out the doors and to the ground.
I then make my way to the office to help Em out with whatever she needs me to do....
---------------------------------------------
Time goes by pretty fast as I was occupied with writing a few reports for Em, whilst she worked on some of the boys.
Preparations for the season have definitely been turned up a notch, with round 1 less then a month away, and our AAMI clash against Brisbane this Friday which is exciting because finally footy is back!
The boys seem pretty motivated to try and go one step better this season, but it still is early days!
I make my way down to the oval where the boys are finishing up with their last drill, before they are dismissed.
"Hey you." I say as Aaron comes running over to me, a massive smile on his face.
"Hey Tahls." He says pulling me into a hug and I smile.
"You should've seen the epic mark I took before." He boasts and I laugh.
"Save it for the season mate."
"Oh I got so much stored for the season don't you worry."
"Good." I say and he smiles.
"How about I go get changed and grab my stuff and I'll drive you home?"
"Sounds good to me." I say and he smiles, as we both walk away talking and chatting about random things.
It's like back to the old times, where we'd joke around, banter and laugh about basically everything.
It makes me happy to say that our friendship is back to normal...
***
So glad that Naughts and Tahlia's relationship is back to normal!
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Next update out Wednesday!!!
Also some cute moments with Baz and Tahls 🥺