224
The air is cool and crisp when I wake up thanks to the air conditioner I had put on last night. Alex's arms are still around my waist as he sleeps; I can feel the inflation of his lungs inside his chest with each breath, and his heartbeat's steady rhythm.
My eyes flutter open to see his bare chest, but they travel upwards to his peaceful face. His eyes are closed and he has a cute smile toying with his lips, making me think he's dreaming. His dark hair is disheveled and sticking up in all angles and I find myself smiling.
"Quit staring," he grumbles, and I jump back with a small squeal. I almost fall off the bed but he secures one hand around my waist and the other around my wrist, pulling me back towards him.
"You scared the shit out of me!" I whisper angrily, punching him on the arm. That was not funny. "Don't do that!"
His sleepy brown eyes look down at me as he grins. "Don't blame me. You were the only staring and you were making me uncomfortable," he teases, drawling out the words. "I had to say something."
"I hate you," I grumble, turning away from him and pushing his arms off me.
He chuckles in a whisper and pulls me back to him, his hand resting on my stomach. "If you did you wouldn't have let me kiss you."
"Still thinking about that?" I tease.
He rests his chin on my shoulder and I can feel him nod.
"You're crazy," I tell him, letting my eyes fall shut. The low hum of the air conditioner starts up again as more cool air is blown into the room.
"For you," he whispers into my ear.
I ignore my body's reaction and shake my head. "That's tacky, Alex. I think you can do better."
"Hmm," he pauses. "Give me a minute."
I can almost hear his brain ticking over as he structures something to say. I focus on his breathing by my ear to try to steady my heart.
"Okay," he finally whispers, pressing his lips to the base of my neck. "On a scale of one to ten, you're a nine and I'm the one you need."
I bite my lip to keep from saying something I shouldn't, not about the line but about what he's doing to my neck.
"Nice try," I whisper. "But not nice enough."
I slide out from under his arms and find one of Alex's hoodies to take downstairs. I shrug it on and pad to the door, gently opening it.
"Where are you going?" He asks, sitting up with his weight on his elbow. I want so badly to crawl back into bed with him but I just close my eyes, take a breath and ignore the feeling.
"Out."
I close the door behind me and tiptoe down the stairs. It's quiet apart from the snoring coming from all ends of the sleeping house. I walk around in the dim light as the sun is starting to rise outside, making my way to the kitchen where Levi is drinking coffee. He has clearly had very little sleep, with bags under his eyes and his almost-black hair completely disheveled.
Upon hearing my arrival he looks up, smiling. "Good morning, cuz."
"Morning," I say. He pulls himself to sit on the kitchen bench while I make myself coffee, working around him. "No sleep?"
His long legs swing back and forth. "A little."
"Why not a lot?"
I pour my coffee and add my milk, then lean against the bench to look at him. His smile is tainted by sleep, making him look like a dork.
"There's a girl."
I laugh, sipping my drink. "Always."
He looks around before shaking his head, hopping down off the bench. "There are too many ears in here. Let's go out back."
We walk out the back door and to the point where grass meets sand; where Nanna and Poppy's property meets the beach. We sit side by side on the grass with out feet in the sand. The sun is peeking over the horizon but the dawn light is so beautiful.
"The girl?" I get back to the conversation. I miss talking to my cousins about things, but we're all too busy with our own lives that we don't speak much. It leads to so many more things to catch up on when we see each other.
"Temma." He says her name in a cute way, a smile spreading across his face. He takes a sip of his coffee and looks out towards the water. "She's amazing, Dakota. She's smart and has a great sense of humour. She's outgoing but quiet at the same time and it's almost as if I can't stay away from her. It's ridiculous."
"It's sweet," I tell him, my lips curling up. "So what's the problem?"
"Well," he stammers, chewing on his lip. His brows furrow and he deliberates, sipping at his coffee every so often. Finally, he speaks. "She's just turned sixteen." And Levi has been eighteen since June.
"That's still legal," I inform him, holding the mug now instead of the handle. The sun is on the rise and the heat is already beating down on us. I shrug off Alex's jumper.
"It is, but... I don't know."
"Does she like you?" I ask.
He frowns, not seeing where I'm heading with this. "Yes."
"Do you like her?"
"Duh."
I punch his arm lightly. "Does the age difference really matter if it will make you both happy?"
"I guess not," he sighs, his face relaxing a bit. "But she's coming to the wedding today, so we'll see what happens there."
"Awh!" I coo, pinching his cheek. He bats my hand away and laughs. "So I'll get to meet her? I promise I won't scare her away." I put my hand over my heart and swear on it, making my cousin laugh even harder.
"Yes you will."
We stay talking until Alex comes and gets us for breakfast. Georgia is staying quiet and I know she is nervous. As soon as we finish eating we head to her room to start going through things, Nanna and Aunty Jacqueline right behind us.
Aunty Jacquie closes the door to Georgia's room and smiles. "It's okay to be nervous, honey. Just get it all out of your system in the next hour so that we can get you ready."
Georgia goes on an emotional rollercoaster, somehow dragging the three of us with her. She goes from angry to excited to hysterical to giggly and everywhere in between in just over an hour. Then, as Aunty Jacquie said, she has to get herself together so we can start doing her makeup and hair. Georgia had requested that her family do it all, so that's what we are doing.
It's 3 o'clock by the time she is ready to go, looking absolutely stunning in her simple white dress. She has to go to the place before her fiancé, Kellan, gets there so she gets whisked away in a car, with Aunt Jacquie and Nanna by her side. I would have gone too but I have to get ready.
I know Alex is somewhere with Levi and the little kiddies so I take my time in getting ready. I shower first to get the sweat off my skin, before applying my makeup and curling my hair. I walk to my room in shorts and a tank top and close the door behind me.
In my room, I slip my dress onto a hanger and hang it over the wardrobe door. The rest of our family is meant to leave at five but it's only half past four when I look at the Mickey Mouse clock. I sigh and switch off the air con, moving to my bookshelf by the window to pick an old book to read. I end up with my old favourite Cathy Cassidy book Scarlett and sit on the window sill. This side of the house is sheltered with trees so the sun is almost absent from view.
After what feels like not long at all I hear someone clear his throat. I set my book down at page 78 and look up to see Alex in the doorway, his hair damp from his shower I presume.
"We leave in fifteen," he tells me, crossing the floor to get his clothes out of his duffel bag. I don't know how they're not creased.
"Okay." I hop off the sill and pad to the wardrobe, laying my dress out on the bed. I pause for a moment, looking up at Alex who is focused on his clothes. I can't be bothered going to the bathroom to change and I figure Alex isn't paying much attention anyway. I slip my top off over my head and slide my dress on, the pretty fabric feeling nice against my skin. I wiggle my shorts off from underneath and smoothen out my dress.
Alex raises his eyes at this, an expression of surprise across his face. I roll my eyes and walk across to the full length mirror. "It's nothing you haven't seen before."
He utters something and get's dressed himself. I try not to look but I catch sight of him in the mirror. He has just put his slacks on and is sliding on his shirt. I can't peel my eyes away from his abs and nor do I want to.
"What did I say about staring?" He asks me, and my eyes immediately revert back to my reflection. I turn in the mirror, enjoying the way the pale pink makes me look pale, delicate. It's semi-longsleeves would be warm if they weren't made of this super fabric. I smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I grin at him in the mirror before digging through my bag for the one thing I don't want to find. My only enemy on this glorious day. The only thing that will make my day the slightest bit bad.
Heels.
I let Mum talk me into bringing a pair of six-inch sandal heels with a relatively thick heel. They're hard to walk in but I have to put them on at some stage. Now seems to be the right time.
"Sure you don't," Alex says, coming to stand in front of me. He has his dark blue suit on with his contrasting shirt and a matching tie. His hair is smoothed into a nicer, gel-like style and he looks classy.
"You look nice," I change the topic, doing up the buckle on my right shoe before turning to my left.
"You're not too bad yourself," he smirks, leaning against the opposing wall. "I'm kidding. You look amazing."
My cheeks flush pink and I try to ignore him. He's just getting into my head and saying all these nice things to try to make me fall for him.
Is everyone right? I can't help but wonder. Do I like Alex?
I look up at him in time to see him pull a stupid face, with the maturity of one of my twin cousins.
No. I definitely don't.