Amelia and Jack had a small informal lunch party for their bridal party.
"How's it going?" Jack asked when David stopped by the beer fridge to get another pack of four.
"What?"
"Don't kid a kidder." Jack told his brother with a smile. "You and Ella?" He prompt. " I thought you guys had sorted things. Looked cosy."
"For a shark." David pulled the tab and poured a beer into his glass. Jack scowled at David's blunt statement. David looked up at Jack as he waited for his beer to settle. "She was at that Business dinner."
"Why would you call her a shark? Come on David. That is nonsense. I thought you and Ella had sorted this! You ask her to do your house." Jack narrowed his eyes as one word registered again, "What business?"
David watched the froth on his beer as if that would help him curb his temper. "You remember, where they gave..."
"Oh yeah." Jack remembered, nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, yeah I forgot that. Amelia said you and Ella were at that thing."
It still surprised David, that nearly two weeks on, he was still bothered about seeing her with another man. He realised, that over the last couple of years he'd managed to avoid her with her dates. Though, when he thought about it, he wasn't sure that she had actually gone on any dates! There were lots of rumours about her dates. Lots of speculation about who her latest 'friend' was, but now that he thought about it, he'd never seen her out on a date, not a proper date. Seen her out with her friends, at parties, at social events, but not alone with guys.
"She wasn't on her own." David reminded his brother. "Have you ever seen her on a date?"
"Er, no." Jack blinked. "But I know she was on a date. Amelia said." He knew that Ella had gone to the same business dinner that David had gone to. Amelia had told him how hard she had pleaded with Ella to go in the first place. And Amelia had told Jack that Ella had enjoyed her date.
"With some random guy!" David snapped. Obviously staring at his beer was not helping him.
Jack snorted at David. "Hardly, She went with Ben's share-milker. Amelia told me."
"You didn't tell me!"
"No. Why would I tell you?" Jack replied, he looked at his foster brother, a question in his eyes when he said, "You were going with Elise. I didn't tell Ella that. You didn't ask me about Ella." Jack knew, from Amelia's conversation with Ella after the event, that Ella didn't tell Amelia that she saw David at the event. She did say anything about David at all. Amelia was pretty sure that Ella was in love with David!
"She didn't even notice." David sighed loudly.
"Who? Elise?"
"No, idiot! Ella. She didn't see me." David knew he was giving away more than he'd hoped, but it still annoyed him.
"Ah." Jack, rolled his lips in, and looked at his brother. So that's how things were. Not as simple as he'd thought. "What did you expect? You took Lise remember? Ben's share-milker took Ella. In any case, why would that matter to you?" But Jack was certain his brother was in love with Ella.
David growled. "You know why! You are rubbing salt in my wound!"
Jack's eyebrows headed for his hairline.
David took a breath. "They sat and talked. The whole bloody night!" David huffed. "Practically in each other's fucking laps!" The emotion he'd banked for the last two weeks were heard and felt in the last sentence.
Jack watched David. Yep, he was sure his brother was in love with Ella.
"I don't get it." David murmured as he perched on the breakfast counter. He glanced over his shoulder, and watched as Jack shifted the other three cans of beer to one side of the counter, and propped his hip against the edge. "We kiss like our lives depend on it." David said in honesty and Jack's eyebrows moved closer to his hairline, again. David sighed. "Then she goes out a few days later with some random guy." He poked his tongue in his cheek, but that didn't stop his fury. "Chatting and laughing like they are joined at the hip. I could have strangled them!" David continued, "She bloody ignored me. Didn't even come over to talk."
"David, what she does, doesn't really matter to you, remember? According to you."
"Fine! Yeah, it means nothing to me." David scowled. Jack rubbed his hand over his mouth before he told his brother he was an idiot because Jack knew what this felt like. "But what the fuck is going on?" David knew he was an idiot, and he could see in Jack' eyes, that Jack agreed with that sentiment. "She went with that guy. Some random guy! She was at my place, and she didn't mention him. Didn't even tell me she would be there at that event?"
Jack stopped what he was doing and came closer, "Did you ask her about it? In any case, you didn't tell her that you would be at that event! Or were going with Elise."
David took a slug of beer and shook his head.
"You guys were talking, at least you seemed to be talking to each other." Jack glanced at David. David didn't say anything. "Amelia says you guys have history."
"Old history."
"Ok, so tell me! I'll see if I can shed any light on the situation. You need advice!"
"Why?" David grimaced.
"Amelia said something happened over ten years ago."
"One event. Non event even."
"Ok." And Jack waited.
Eventually David said, "You remember I went to a training camp when I was first picked? And mum and dad came up."
Jack nodded. "Yeah. And I remember that. Mum and dad were called. Some problem or something, but they never said what exactly. They came back within a day and you were there for the rugby camp."
"Yeah. They came for the day, because they were asked." David rubbed his face with his palm, "Her father was manager of the squad."
It was the only rugby camp that David went to. "Oh, she's that Jones. I remembered you told me about that rugby camp. But to be honest, I hadn't taken any notice." Jack looked over at David, "Is that where you met her?" Jack brow furrowed.
David nodded. "There were always lots of women hanging around. Actually lots of guys watching too."
"So people came to watch training."
"Yeah, most, probably." David inhaled as he said, "One day Ella was down to watch."
"Ok, I would expect that, given her dad was the manager."
David said as red suffused his neck. Jack narrowed his eyes as he watched David. "I spoke to her after training every day that week." David said as his cheeks were flushed with red. "We hit it off."
"Ok, so far so good. So what put her offside?"
"I kissed her."
"I've got nothing to go on, but your kissing technique can't be that bad, can it?"
David ignored his brother ironic question. "If you are going to be an idiot, forget this conversation." He was ready to move away and started to slide off the counter top.
"Ok, ok. Sorry." Jack stopped David with a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, bro." A second later, Jack prompted, "So you kissed her, and then what?"
"And we got caught." David told him, ignoring the baiting and the question, he stared into his beer.
"By her father?"
"The assistant coach."
Jack shrugged. "Does it matter? Either you liked kissing her..."
"Yes! But he told me she was a schoolgirl!"
"Ah. She was at school." Jack rubbed the back of his neck as he remembered that David was well passed school age. "What happened exactly?"
"The guy practically accused me of taking advantage of a school girl!"
"What? Is that why mum and dad were summoned?"
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"Tama and John waded in. They said she was a groupie!"
"What?"
"That she'd hit on them last season. I was this season's effort. They gave the impression she made a habit of seducing guys."
"You believed that?" Jack scowled at David.
"She didn't say anything to contradict them." David grumbled half-heartedly.
"Ella? Dave, we are talking about Ella. The woman who would freeze the Sahara with one glance?" Jack shook his head. "Bloody hell. She's not a slut, David."
"I know."
Jack had lots of questions, but he opted for the obvious, "What happened? You weren't booted off the squad."
"I wasn't. There was a tribunal." He looked over at his brother. "I was so scared. I thought my career was down the tubes. They phone mum and dad. They told them they wanted to see them because there was an incident, and there might be a tribunal."
"You didn't tell me."
David snorted. "You expected me to tell you I was embarrassed?" David ran his fingers through his hair and left his hand clasped behind his head and looked straight at Jack. "Fucking embarrassed. There was a bit in the newspaper, up there. Just the local newspaper. Thank goodness. But I thought I would be thrown off the camp. Disgraced."
"You didn't come back with mum and dad." Jack said quietly, "So obviously the tribunal found in your favour?"
"Yeah, they did. But I was so bloody ashamed."