Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (7 page)

Straightaway I felt her warm textured tongue lap at my face
and smelled her disgusting doggy breath. ‘You’ve just eaten a Schmackos,
haven’t you?’ I asked in a voice that resembled Scooby Doo.

Sasha barked in response.

‘Did you miss me?’

She barked again, and this time went to town on my face,
licking with frenzied desperation.

‘Sasha, stop it,’ I laughed. ‘Get off, you big woolly
mammoth.’ I rolled her off and proceeded to stand, brushing away the fur she so
easily transferred.

‘Where’s Elmo?’ I asked enthusiastically, distracting her
from trying another kissathon by asking her to retrieve her favourite toy.

Continuing to brush the bits of fur off my pants, I moved
into the house while singing out to Libby, ‘Honey, I’m home.’

‘Excellent! The toilet needs scrubbing. And guess what? It’s
your turn,’ Libby responded from the direction of the kitchen, her voice awash
with pure sarcasm.

‘Lib. Elizabeth. Libido. Labia,’ I announced, entering the
room and catching her eye-roll. ‘You know I don’t do toilets.’

‘I know you don’t do toilets, but you’re going to because
I’m not doing it anymore.’

I placed my handbag down on the kitchen counter and took a
seat on one of our white shabby-chic styled bar stools. Our house was cute; a
typical girl’s space, I guess. It was always neat and tidy — thanks to Lib —
and had a feminine touch everywhere you looked. From the vase of flowers on the
dining table, to the pile of magazines on the edge of the benchtop and the
framed pictures of French monuments hanging on the walls. Lib’s and my home was
our little sanctuary, and although I loved it, I hated cleaning it.

‘I’m fairly certain we’ve had this conversation before. In
fact, I’m positive. You said you’d clean the loo if I cleaned the floors.’

The ding of the microwave sounded. Libby stepped in front of
it and opened the door. ‘Yes, but have you cleaned the floors?’ she asked as
she removed what looked like leftover pasta. It smelled bloody divine.

‘I have.’

‘When, last year?’ she retorted.

Just as Lib put the Tupperware container on the bench and
stirred the contents with a fork, Sasha nudged my leg. The soft sensation on my
skin drew my attention. I looked down and found her toy, Elmo, dangling from
her mouth.

‘Good girl,’ I cooed quietly and patted her head. Then,
giving my attention back to Lib, I continued to lie. ‘No. I cleaned them last
week.’

‘I call bullshit,’ Libby coughed, trying to camouflage her
sarcasm.

My ginger-topped petite friend turned around and opened the
fridge door, and even though Lib fell into the fanta-pants category, I could
vouch for her being one of the cute ones. In my mind, redheads like Annie,
Ginger Meggs and Jessica Rabbit —
I don’t care how big Jessica’s boobs are,
she is
not
hot
— aren’t in any way cute.

Lib was a walking contradiction; petite with a bold
attitude, pretty with an ugly bite when needed. She was an intelligent and
beautiful pocket-rocket who packed a punch. I adored her.

While Lib’s back was turned, I took the opportunity to dig
into her pasta dish.

‘Nothing to say?’ she questioned as she bent over and sought
her item.

I always had
something
to say, but speaking at this
point in time would reveal that my mouth was full of food and, seeing as hers
was the only food in my vicinity, I chose to keep quiet and continue to
devilishly consume her lunch.

She scoffed at me. ‘Well that’s a first. Carly at a loss for
words. Where’s the bloody parmesan cheese?’

‘I don’t know,’ I mumbled and quickly shovelled in another
mouthful.

Lib turned around, displaying a puzzled expression, but soon
became aware that I was stealing her pasta. ‘Hey! Nick off. Get your own.’

She snatched it away from me just as my mobile sounded from
within my handbag. I reached across the bench and pulled it out to find a text
message from an unknown number. Curious, I tapped to open it up:

Carly, it’s Derek. I just wanted to apologise for last night.

I’m sure I came across as a prick when you asked about my
family.

It’s a long story, but I’d really like to meet up and explain
~ Derek

The message had me a little bemused.
Why would he want to
explain?
His family and his privacy were his to keep just that ... private.
He didn’t owe me any explanation.

Opting not to respond straightaway — because I’ve watched
He’s
Just Not That Into You
— I headed to my room to change and get ready to
take Sasha for a walk.

***

Sasha loved the park. She also loved to chase things: birds,
kids and balls to name a few. Picking up a stick, I threw it for her to
retrieve and watched as she bounded off excitedly. The cold air was brisk and
stinging my nose. I was thankful I’d chosen to rug up in my thermals, even
though they were hideous.

‘Good girl, Sashy,’ I praised as she returned and dropped
the stick at my feet. I picked it up and threw it again, being the first to
admit that I’m not Sporty Spice. My aim and throwing ability are laughable, but
Sasha never seemed to mind. In fact, she happily brought back whatever I threw
so that I could do it again for her. Either she thought I was king-shit of
stick throwing, or she wanted me to practise as much as possible because she
believed that I sucked. Oh well, I guess we’ll never know. Thank goodness dogs
could not talk.

While Sasha stopped to take a dump, I pulled my phone out of
my pocket. Derek’s text had still gone unanswered and that was because I did
not know how to respond. For some reason, he seemed to be unlike the many other
guys I’d hooked up with in the past, and I didn’t know why. Sure, he looked
like the yummiest thing I could ever put in my mouth. And yes, his voice had
the ability to render me stupid, but that didn’t explain why I was hesitant to
act either way.

Perhaps I was afraid that if I did respond and openly
acknowledge that I liked him and would love to meet up, only for him to let me
down, I’d be devastated more than I’d care to admit. But the alternative of
fobbing him off, only for him to take it on the chin and not push to see me
again would be equally as devastating.
Damn! This is why I’m happily single
and unattached. Fuck, fun and fuck off. Those are the three actions I live by.
And I live by them for this reason.

I hit reply and sent a text back.

Hi, No need to explain. I had no right to pry ~ Carly

After pressing Send, my stomach dropped.
Carly, that
response was pathetic.

I mentally berated myself then looked up from my phone to
see Sasha leave a nice pile of dog shit on the ground.
Urgh!
I hated
picking it up with a baggie. Shovels I could handle, but only just; baggies,
not so much.

Glancing around, I spotted some kids tossing a ball to each
other.
Perfect!

‘Hey!’ I called out and motioned them to come closer. Both
boys jogged to where I was standing. They looked to be maybe twelve or thirteen
years old.

‘Want to earn ten dollars?’ I asked, plastering as much
enthusiasm over my face as humanly possible.

‘Sure,’ one of them replied.

‘I’m not getting in your car,’ the other stated. Clearly, he
was smart and, clearly, his mum had taught him well.

‘No, no. There’ll be no getting in my car,’ I reassured him.
‘I need a little help. You see, I’m allergic to dog poo —’
no, not really
‘—
and my golden retriever Sasha just dropped one over there,’ I said, while
screwing up my nose and pointing. ‘If one of you picks it up with this bag,
I’ll give you ten dollars.’

Both boys wrinkled their nose.
Shit! They ain’t gonna
take the bait. And they are far too young to flash my boobs to.

‘Twenty,’ offered smart boy.

‘Twenty?’ I screeched in response.

He tossed his ball in the air and caught it in a show of
teenage cockiness. ‘Yep. Take it or leave it.’

I’m bloody inclined to do just that ... leave the steaming
pile of shit on the ground. But I know better. I was taught to clean up after
myself, or convince someone else to do it for me.

Huffing in surrender, I narrowed my eyes at the clever kid
and handed him the baggie. ‘Fine, twenty. And you’d better spend it wisely.’

As the two extortionists headed off, my phone beeped again.
I pulled it out to find another text from Derek.

Okay, but I’d really like to catch up sometime.

I’m heading interstate for work. I will be gone for a couple
of weeks.

Maybe when I get back? ~ Derek

Reading what he’d written, a small smile started to creep in
at the corners of my mouth. But I stopped it before it spread any further.
Carly,
is he really someone you want to fuck around?
Normally I would not hesitate
with an answer, but there was just something different about Derek.

My phone beeped again.

Maybe I’m going about this wrong.

What about this? Baby, I’m a firefighter. I find ’em hot and
leave ’em wet.

I hope you like being damp ~ Derek

OMG!
I covered my face with my free hand and laughed
before responding.

Do firefighters study Pick-up Lines 101? ~ Carly

Again, his response came through rather quickly.

Sure, I’ll go with that.

So, can I take you out and make you damp when I’m back in
Melbourne? ~ Derek

My heart rate increased as I contemplated my answer.
Yes
or no? Yes or no?
It really shouldn’t be this hard a decision.

I bit my fingernail then typed my answer.

Yes ~ Carly

Good. Make sure you have a towel ~ Derek

‘Shit!’ I said out loud.

‘Yes, here’s your shit. Now hand over the cash,’ a voice
said in response.

I looked up to find smart kid dangling the baggie which now
contained Sasha’s turd. He was offering it to me and, with his other hand out,
it was clear I had to pay up.

Ahh ... shiit!

***

For the week that followed, I popped in and out of work
sporadically. It was school holidays so I was not required to be there daily,
but had to perform some admin work in preparation for the following semester.

So for the holiday period my timetable was flexible and,
because of that, I found myself to be Libby’s slave, subjected to her threats
of having to clean the floors in our house.

Just as I was about to switch on the vacuum, my phone rang.

I smiled at the perfectly timed interruption. Lib, on the
other hand, just shook her head from her seated position at the dining table.
She was planning the first week of term three’s tasks. ‘Don’t think you are
getting out of vacuuming,’ she grumbled without looking up from her laptop
screen.

‘Of course not,’ I responded before answering my phone. It
was Lexi. ‘What up, Duffy?’ I said with a proud smile.

There was a short pause before she answered. ‘Not up the
duff any more, hon. I lost the baby.’

My breath caught and my chest panged. Slowly, I lowered
myself to sit on the couch, gripping the light brown cushion as I came to rest.
I wanted nothing more than to apologise for my highly inappropriate words, but
I was too ashamed and disgusted with myself to even speak.

Unable to control my emotions, I let out a sob as tears wet
my cheeks.

‘Carls? You there?’ she said softly.

‘Uh huh,’ I choked out, trying to avoid making her aware of
my emotional state.

‘You all right?’

Am
I
all right?
I said in disbelief, then
sniffed. ‘I just shamefully make a joke about you being pregnant when you’re no
longer pregnant, and you ask if
I’m
all right? What’s fucking wrong with
this picture?’ I spat out angrily. I was so furious with my lack of decorum.

‘Carls,’ she sighed, ‘how were you to know?’

I knew she was trying to make me feel better. It was what
Alexis did. She was forever attempting to make people feel comfortable in their
own skin, and pushing aside her feelings was her way of trying to make me feel
better. Even though I was an inconsiderate bitch.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said bitterly. ‘I’m a bitch, a
horrible best friend.’

‘You are not ... well ... you are a bitch, but you are
definitely not a horrible best friend,’ she said with a sad laugh.

‘Yeah? Well, I disagree. So what happened, Lex? Do you want
to talk about it?’

‘Sure. There’s not much to say really. I fell down the
stairs, broke my ankle and miscarried,’ she explained a little tersely.

I gripped at my chest. ‘Jesus, fuck! When did this happen?’

‘Monday, just past. I was in hospital pretty much all last
week.’

Shooting up from the couch, I began to make my way to my
room to grab my car keys. ‘Right, I’m coming over there.’ My eyes met Libby’s
and her eyebrows rose. She had closed her laptop and was now completely
focussed on my conversation.

‘No. I actually just want to be with Bryce, Carls. But thank
you.’

Turning back around and pacing toward the window, I placed
my hand on my forehead. ‘Oh, poor Bryce. He was really looking forward to being
a dad. How is he?’

‘He’s coping. Anyway, hon, as you can imagine, I need to
call a few people, and next on my list is Tash. I will need a moment to prepare
myself, so I’d better get going.’

I laughed mildly, trying to lighten the mood for Alexis’
sake. Ringing family and friends with this news must be absolutely dreadful for
her. ‘I understand. Okay, if you need me for anything, please call. I love you,
you know,’ I whispered quietly.

‘I do know. I love you too. ’Bye.’

As we disconnected our call, I let the tears fall freely.
Poor
Lexi. Poor Bryce.
Hearing about people losing their baby always ripped me
to shreds. But hearing that my best friend, my ally, my sister from another
mother, had lost her child made my heart crumble to pieces.