"Want to come to the movies with us today?" Robert asks over the phone.
I lean against the kitchen counter, picking up a blueberry out of my bowl.
"I know what you're doing," I tease him, popping the blueberry into my mouth.
"Ah hmmm, trying to spend time with my best friend, because my girlfriend keeps hogging her? Yeah, of course I am," Robert feigns ignorance.
I roll my eyes, entirely for my own benefit since he can't actually see me.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't have to fight over me if you lived in the same house," I muse.
"That's a good one actually, I should write that one down to use on Maya," Robert laughs.
I laugh along with him, playing with the blueberries in my bowl.
"What I meant, is that you're trying to make sure I'm not alone, because you think I need to be babysat," I accuse him.
Robert sighs immediately, and I relax my shoulders knowing I am right.
"You don't have to do that, I can look after myself you know. Besides, I'm actually going to go have lunch with Dacre, so you don't have to worry," I tell him.
"Dacre?" Robert asks, his voice slightly higher as though in shock.
"Yeah..." I respond.
I'm not sure what his problem is, it's pretty clear we're good friends.
"Like a date?" He asks me, and it clicks in my brain.
"No, not like a date. Oh my god. He's my friend, and he'll be leaving for Australia soon. I'm making the most of the time we have left," I explain to him, slightly defensive.
"Okay, okay. I was just worried about you using him as a rebound, and doing anything you'd regret," Robert tells me.
I scoff. I wouldn't use Dacre like that, and risk our friendship. Part of me wonders how much of this is concern for me and Dacre, and how much is jealousy from his old crush. But, that isn't fair of me.
"I wouldn't do that to him, and I'm definitely not ready to entertain any other type of relationship right now," I say.
I've finished my berries, and I get up to walk the bowl to the sink so I can rinse it.
"I know," He tells me.
"And, boys and girls can be friends," I remind him.
Robert sighs again.
"I know. I mean, Maya and I didn't do a great job of that. You and Joe didn't exactly ace it. But, you and I are going strong, so that's a plus," He says.
I laugh and shake my head. Ouch, but okay.
"Yeah, we're good," I tell him.
"I'm just looking out for you, Charlee. For awhile, I was the only one that did. It's hard for me to loosen up, and remember you've got a whole troop of people to do that now," Robert says gently.
"Thanks Robert," I say, leaning against the sink now, "I've gotta go get ready. You enjoy your date with Maya at the movies,"
Robert chuckles and gives me his goodbyes. I plug my phone into my charger, and go get dressed.
Dacre and I are just meeting for brunch, so I don't bother thinking too much about what to wear. I slip on some jeans and a David Bowie shirt before leaving.
*****
I smile at Dacre when I see him walk through the courtyard of the restaurant. I was worried he may have trouble finding me, but he spots me and walks over.
I straighten my back, and watch him walk across the grey tiles towards the table. As he reaches me, he shrugs off his grey jacket, revealing a white button up shirt as he drapes the jacket across his chair.
"This place is beautiful," Dacre says, looking around in awe.
I look around, appreciating the view with him. The courtyard of the restaurant surrounded by trees, some even bearing fruit. I breathe in the sweet, fresh and fragrant air.
It feels as if we are dining in a private courtyard, somewhere in Italy. It's quiet and beautiful. I'd always wanted to come here, and thought this was a good as time as any.
I glance over at Dacre, eyeing his outfit and looking at the beautiful setting. An anxious thought of whether he knew that this isn't a date, flashes before my mind.
I hope I'm not sending mixed messages. I swallow the thought down, though. He knows what his friendship means to me.
"Have you ordered?" Dacre asks me, snapping me out of my zoning out.
I smile, and pick up the menu.
"Nope, I was waiting for you," I tell him.
He picks up the menu too, and glances at the back of it.
"So... Cocktails?" Dacre asks, his eyes shining mischievously.
I know that I shouldn't, but an ice cold Bellini sounds incredible right now.
"Just one," I say, levelling my eyes at him seriously.
"Or two," I give him a little smirk.
A waitress with short brown hair comes out to the table, to see if we're ready to order yet.
After she takes our orders and leaves, Dacre leans over the table with a smirk.
"She was checking you out," He says. I detect the humour in his voice.
I roll my eyes. Is everyone waiting for me to just jump the first person to notice me?
"I doubt it," I tell him, taking a drink from my water.
He just rolls his eyes.
"You know, Robert thought this was a date," I tell him, trying to gauge his reaction.
Dacre laughs and shakes his head. He looks down at his water, running his finger around the top of his glass.
"He thinks I would go on a date right before I leave to go home?" He asks, looking up at me. His eyes catching mine.
I laugh too.
"That's what I said," I tell him.
"There's no way he thinks you're actually over Joe," Dacre points out.
My mouth goes dry at the mention of him, and my stomach summersaults. I look down at my hands, watching the way the shadows of the leaves of the trees fall on them to distract myself from the sinking feeling.
"Sorry," Dacre says quietly.
I shake my head.
"Your reaction shows I'm right though," He says gently.
I shrug, and lift my head.
"So what? We only broke up a week ago," I tell him.
I notice the waitress coming over with our drinks, and I turn my head, thankful for the distraction.
When I thank her, I notice the dimples in her smile, and the way her green eyes linger on me for a moment.
Maybe Dacre was right about her, but he was also right about my feelings for Joe.
Dacre watches me as she leaves, and I hesitate before looking at him. I'm not sure what he's going to say now.
"I was wrong, you know," He tells me when I catch his eyes.
"Wrong about what?" I ask him, before taking a sip of my drink.
He licks his lips, then let's out a breath before answering.
"About love. It's not meant to be painless. It's impossible for there to be no pain in this life. Love isn't about avoiding pain, it's about facing it together," Dacre says carefully, thinking about the words as he says them.
My mouth feels dry, and I take a sip of my Bellini again.
"What are you saying?" I ask him in a small voice.
He sighs again.
"I'm just saying that, you're scared of getting hurt with Joe, because the lead up to the relationship was painful. I don't want what I said about love not being meant to be that way, to be the reason you're doing this," Dacre says.
I laugh quietly, but there's no humour in it. The condensation on my glass has left my fingers wet and cold, and I press them together.
"There's been so much pain already," I say.
"But, has there really? Since you actually got together? Has it all been painful, or was the pain in the fact that you weren't together? All this now, was just a misunderstanding. You acknowledged that yourself," Dacre argues.
My eyes snap to his when he says this. My breathing shallows and my jaw tightens. Why is he doing this?
"Since when are you team Joe?" I say with a dry laugh.
He shakes his head.
"I've always been team Joe, and team Charlee. You're my mates. Granted, I was a little jealous, and worried about you getting hurt. But, I want you two to be happy. And, you were. You both were," He says.
I go quiet, taking everything in. Is he right? Am I hurting Joe and I needlessly, out of an ironic fear of getting hurt? I guess it tracks for me, but it's too late to go back now anyway.
What's done is done.
The waitress brings us our food as I'm lost in thought, and Dacre raises an eyebrow at my spaghetti.
"What?" I ask him.
"Just rare to see you eat something without sugar on the plate," He muses.
I laugh. Has the whole group noticed my sugar addiction? I guess they picked up on the caffeine one pretty quickly too.
"I eat actual meals you know," I playfully bite back.
I take a bite of my spaghetti, appreciating all of the individual flavours in my mouth as I chew, before swallowing it down.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure they put sugar in the spaghetti sauce here," I laugh.
The meal is good.
Dacre and I laugh and talk about work, and he tells me about Australia and how he misses home, but will miss all of us too.
"I'd love it if you all came to visit me sometime, I could show you how to surf," He says to me.
"You could have taught me to surf while you were here," I point out.
His smile widens.
"Nothing like the waves in Australia," He tells me.
For a moment, I let myself fantasise about us all in Australia. About Joe and I together there, walking along the beach hand in hand.
My phone rings, breaking me out of my fantasy.
I pull it out of my bag, flashing Dacre a sorry look. Mayas name flashes on the screen, with a picture of us both in the background. She's giving me bunny ears in it, as if we are 10 years old.
"What's up?" I ask, as I answer.
"Emergency meeting!" She shouts over the phone.
"What? What happened?" I ask, worried.
"Is Dacre still with you?" She asks me.
"Yeah, he's here," I tell her, glancing my eyes over to his confused face.
"Okay, bring him. Roberts house. Now," She says, then hangs up.
I look at my phone for a second, and then stand up, picking my bag up with me.
"I'm sorry, it's Maya. She says it's an emergency -she wants you there too," I tell him, quickly grabbing my things together.
Dacre nods to me and stands up, grabbing his jacket.
"I'll go pay. Did you drive here?" He asks me.
I shake my head.
"Okay, I did. I'll pay and then I'll drive us, okay? You wait here," He tells me.
I'm too worried about Maya and Robert to fight Dacre about paying, so I nod and wait for him. My stomach churning.
*****
I look out the window of Dacres car, recognising the houses on Roberts street. When I see Roberts house, and all the cars there, my stomach settles a little bit.
If the emergency was a life threatening one, she wouldn't have corralled us all. I remind myself that Maya has a tendency to be dramatic.
I notice Joes car there, and he is getting out of it just as we pull up to the house. My heart stops as I watch him. He's wearing a black shirt, with a tan jacket and dark blue jeans.
Why does he always have to look so good? It's not fair.
As I step out of the car, his eyes lock with mine. My stomach flips at the sight of him, but his eyes look hurt. He glances behind me at Dacre, then turns and walks into the house.
I shrug it off. So what I arrived with Dacre? We're friends. He knows that.
Dacre and I follow Joe into the house, to find the living room full of chairs and people, with Maya and Robert sitting on chairs in front of them. Nearly all of the group is here, and it's packed.
"This better be good," I warn them as I sit down next to Dacre.
I'm not really that annoyed, but my worry is still lingering since I don't know why they called an emergency meeting.
Maya takes Roberts hand, then looks out to all of us.
"Thank you for being here today," She says solemnly.
I would be worried she had bad news with the way she is talking, but Robert is shaking his head slowly with a smile on his face.
Yeah. She's just being dramatic.
"We have important news," She says.
"I'd hope so, with the way you rushed us here," Charlie says.
Maya shoots him a look.
"Robert and I... are moving in together," She announces after a dramatic pause.
The room groans.
"You couldn't have said that over a phone call? Really, Maya?" Joe complains.
"Yeah, I didn't even get to finish my spaghetti," I complain grumpily.
"I left my drink half finished," Dacre adds.
I laugh at the image of Dacre trying to finish his drink quickly, and failing. But, when my eyes glance over to Joe, his face is tense and his jaw locked. I see his Adam's Apple move as he swallows.
"We wanted everyone here for an important part of our lives," Maya says, pulling my attention away from Joe.
"And, we really need your help moving. It was a quick acceptance and we're moving in on Tuesday," Robert adds, looking around the room hopefully.
"You WILL be there, or none of you will ever see my children," Maya threatens.
Roberts eyes grow big, turning to Maya.
"Oh! I'm not... ah. I'm just saying, future children," She tells him.
Roberts shoulders relax a little and he laughs.
"Don't do that to me," he mutters with a smile.
"I'll be there. Can't risk missing out on future mini Mayas," Dacre laughs.
"I'll be there too," I tell them.
"Good, you can carpool," Joe mutters quietly.
I'm not sure if I was meant to hear it.
The rest of the room agrees to be there for the move, and I watch Joe walk into the kitchen. I bite my lip for a moment, deciding whether I should follow him, before getting up.
When I walk into the kitchen, I see Joe standing at the sink, looking out of the window. A glass of water in one hand, his other tucked under his arm.
I walk slowly over to him, grabbing a glass off the dish rack and filling it with water. My arm is brushing against his, and it's taking everything in me to keep my breathing regulated.
I look out the window with Joe, taking in the big cherry blossom tree in the back yard. Robert will be sad to leave that, but I'm guessing Maya wanted a fresh start somewhere that was just hers and Roberts.
Joe and I stand like that for a few minutes, in silence, our arms touching each other's. As our breathing slows to a matching pace, I fight the urge to lean on his shoulder.
Eventually, I turn to him, and look up at his face.
"We weren't on a date you know, Dacre and I," I tell him.
Joe sighs, then sets down his glass. He brushes his hand through his hair slowly. It makes my insides tighten, and I wonder for a moment if he's doing this on purpose.
"It's okay if it was. It doesn't have anything to do with me," He tells me.
He's looking at my face, but he's avoiding my eyes. I set my glass down too, and bite my lip, willing myself not to get emotional.
"It wasn't. We're just friends and we wanted to hang out before he goes home. I couldn't do that to you, I couldn't get over you like that," I say quickly, the words falling out of my mouth as my brain scrambles to find a way to get him to understand, so he doesn't look so hurt anymore.
I realise what I've said though, and my eyes go wide. I couldn't get over him.
Joes hands come up, and rest on my shoulders. My eyes involuntarily close as my body instantly relaxes at his touch. I feel the warmth of his hands travel through my body.
"It's okay, Charlee," He tells me.
I open my eyes, and look at him. My heart pulls at hearing him use my name, and suddenly my thoughts are full of the taste of his lips when we kissed during our last scene together.
If he kissed me now, I don't think I could pull away.
"Stop worrying about me, okay?" Joe says, looking into my eyes now, "You do what you need to do, to be happy. Don't worry about me. You're not mine anymore,"
I look at him, my whole body feeling the pain of what he just said. The eye contact seems too much for him though, because he pulls away from me, and walks out of the room.
I want to scream as I watch him walk away. You're wrong. I am yours. I think I always will be.
——————
Authors note: Hello my wonderful readers! I'm sorry this chapter is a bit later than usual, I've been doing a lot of preparation for us going away this week!
We leave tomorrow for a very long car drive, and should arrive tomorrow night. I'm not 100% sure if I'll be able to upload on Wednesday or not at this point, I have started the next chapter, so it's possible but I'm going to try and make the most of my little holiday too.
Although, I've been waiting for these parts of the story to come for so long, I'm very excited that they're here and I can write them now! Get these scenes out of my brain that I've played over and over so many times.
Thank you for all the readers who have stayed through my story and wait for my updates, I'm glad you're enjoying this as much as I am. I'll see you soon! Xxx