Dismissed (3 page)

CHAPTER 3

‘Ladies! Come on in!’ Gabe beamed and waved his arm in a sweeping motion, ushering them into a huge living area. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’

‘What does your dad do?’ Taylor asked, examining her surroundings with an eagle eye.

Gabe didn’t seem fazed by the question. ‘He’s an obstetrician.’

‘Oh wow! That’s cool.’ Taylor had definitely changed her tune.

‘Come out near the pool. The others are already here.’

Lizzie quietly followed Gabe through the house. The décor was very refined. She felt like she was on the set of
The Great Gatsby
or something. There was a crystal chandelier hanging overhead and elaborately carved furniture dotted around the living and dining rooms. The windows even had little squares of stained glass along their tops.

Lizzie noticed a large black and white photo mounted in a gilded frame on the wall. It was of Gabe and a young girl lying on a large circular daybed on a deck. They looked like models.

‘Is that your sister?’ she asked, pointing to the picture.

‘Yeah. That was taken in Hawaii.’

Taylor looked over. Lizzie saw her eyes bulge when she realised just how glamorous the setting was. Gabe had clearly been playing down the extravagance of his holiday accommodation when he’d talked about it earlier.  

They continued through the house to the backyard, which contained a deck, a pool and a view of the river and city. Taylor whistled. ‘Do you have a spare room you’d like to rent out?’ she asked, flirting with Gabe.

He laughed. ‘Afraid not. But make yourself comfortable. This is Josh and this is Nick.’ He pointed to two guys that Lizzie had seen briefly earlier in the day. With all the excitement of the new English teacher, new students just hadn’t seemed that interesting. But they did look like decent guys. Josh had a short blonde buzz cut, and Nick had red hair that he tucked behind his ear.

‘Hi,’ Lizzie said, taking a seat on a sun lounger.

‘Hey,’ said Josh and Nick in unison.

‘Would anyone like a drink?’ Gabe asked.

‘I’ll have some wine if you’ve got it,’ Taylor replied.

‘Sorry, no. I meant non-alcoholic.’

Taylor pouted. ‘Then no thank you.’

He shrugged and looked at Lizzie. ‘Would you like something?’

‘Just water would be great.’

‘I can do that. Guys? Do you want some Coke?’

Taylor was about to say something, but Gabe cut her off. ‘I mean the cola kind.’

She laughed. ‘How did you know what I was going to say?’

‘Lucky guess,’ he said, still looking at the guys.

‘Yeah, I’ll have a Coke,’ Josh said.

‘Me too,’ Nick added.

Gabe disappeared inside to get the drinks. Taylor took off her shoes and dangled her feet in the pool.

‘It’s so warm! You want to go for a swim, Lizzie?’

‘I didn’t bring my swimsuit.’

‘You could go in your clothes.’

Lizzie pointed to her white top. She hadn’t bothered with a proper bra because the shirt had one built in.

‘And look like something out of a wet t-shirt competition? Uh-uh.’ She noticed that Josh and Nick exchanged a hopeful look. She definitely wasn’t stripping off now.

‘Well I’m going in.’ Taylor pulled off her top and shorts, revealing a black bra and knickers. They were quite plain for Taylor’s standards, so they could almost pass for a bathing suit, but it was still something that Lizzie wouldn’t do, even if she was wearing appropriate underwear.

Taylor executed a perfect dive into the deep end. Lizzie was amazed that her friend’s makeup didn’t drip down her face. She must have used the waterproof stuff.

Gabe walked back out, carrying a tray of glasses. He handed a tall glass of ice water with decorative mint leaves to Lizzie, and two Coke cans to the guys. He kept a third can for himself.

‘Nice to see you making the most of the pool,’ Gabe called out sarcastically to Taylor. Lizzie was secretly pleased that he didn’t seem particularly affected by the half-naked display. He focused his attention on Lizzie.

‘Seriously, how come we’ve never hung out before?’

‘Yeah, Lizzie. How come we’ve never hung out with Gabe until now?’ Taylor asked accusingly as she swam up to the edge of the pool and rested her chin on her hands.

Typical, thought Lizzie. Just because the guy has a nice house…

‘I don’t know. You always just seemed to hang out with a different crowd.’

‘I guess that’s true. I don’t really talk to many of the chicks at our school. To be honest, I think most of them are bitches.’ He looked in Taylor’s direction as he said this, but she didn't seem to notice. Lizzie did.

‘I think you just need to give them a chance. They can all be nice if you get them in the right situation.’

‘Except Heather,’ Taylor chimed in. ‘She really
is
a bitch.’

‘That’s true,’ Lizzie admitted. ‘Don’t even bother with her.’

Nick and Josh were sitting quietly, listening to their conversation.

‘At least you
have
girls at your school,’ Nick said. ‘My last one was all guys and it sucked. We got like one dance with our sister school maybe two or three times a year and that was it.’

Gabe shuddered. ‘I wouldn’t be able to handle that.’

‘I couldn’t either, which is why I begged my parents to move me.’

‘What about you, Josh?’ Lizzie asked. ‘Why did you change schools?’

‘My dad got a really good job offer, so we relocated from Cairns. I didn't want to come, but I didn’t have a choice.’

‘I can't wait until next year when I can do whatever I want,’ Gabe said, looking around. ‘Having all that freedom is going to be amazing.’

‘Yeah, but then you’ll probably go to uni, and if you move out, you’ll have to work somewhere to support yourself at the same time,’ Lizzie pointed out.

‘Mum and Dad have already offered to cover my rent if I go to uni.’

‘That's generous of them,’ Lizzie said enviously. ‘I’m sure I’ll be working at McDonald’s for at least the next three years. And even if I stay at home, I’ll still have to pay board.’

‘What about you, Taylor?’ Gabe asked. ‘What are your plans for next year?’

‘I don't know yet,’ she said vaguely. ‘I might go overseas and take a gap year in the UK.’

‘That’d be cool,’ Gabe said.

‘I didn’t know you were thinking of doing that,’ Lizzie said, surprised.

Taylor looked at her, annoyed. ‘I only decided recently.’

Lizzie wondered if Taylor was just trying to impress Gabe because of his obvious wealth.

‘Hey, I want to show you guys something,’ Gabe said to Josh and Nick, pointing inside. ‘Girls, I’ll be back in a minute.’

Lizzie nodded and leaned back in the sun lounger, sipping her water.

Taylor pushed herself backwards into the water and flipped gracefully like a mermaid.

Lizzie almost regretted bringing her along this afternoon. She’d felt herself getting more and more frustrated by Taylor lately. Especially over summer, when everything seemed to revolve around her. Lizzie was beginning to feel like Taylor’s chauffeur, picking her up almost every day and driving her to the shops, or out to lunch. Taylor had even insisted on four separate trips to the Gold Coast so they could go to each of the theme parks. Lizzie suspected that Taylor saw her as the ‘ugly friend’ to make herself look better when she approached cute guys. If she didn’t start being a little less selfish soon, Lizzie was going to have to reassess their relationship.

She hadn’t been joking before when she’d said that Taylor only liked her for her car. But then Taylor did have moments where she could be really nice. And in a strange way, Lizzie craved her approval. Possibly because she was the only person that Taylor had consistently come back to time and again. They had known each other since the beginning of high school, and they had a lot of history together.

Gabe came back out alone, but he was carrying a towel for Taylor.

‘I just set the guys up with this new gaming system I bought,’ he explained.

‘Oh right,’ Lizzie said, wondering what that was all about.

‘Hey Taylor. My mum is doing a wardrobe clean out, so do you want to see if there’s anything you’d like? She has a whole bunch of designer shoes and handbags. I’m sure she’d be fine with you taking some of them.’

Taylor stopped swimming and looked at him, eyes round.

‘Really?’

‘Sure.’

‘Great!’ She breast-stroked over to the ladder and climbed out. ‘Lead the way!’

Taylor grabbed the towel Gabe held out for her and followed him inside. Lizzie trailed after them. She wondered why Gabe was making the offer to Taylor and not her. Maybe he’d had a change of heart while he was setting up the computer. Had Josh and Nick warned him off her? Or more likely, convinced him that Taylor was the better choice?

She was a bit disappointed. But she should have expected as much. It was always like this. Taylor got everything she wanted, even though she had the attention span of a goldfish.

Then she felt bad for being so uncharitable towards her friend. She really needed to be more compassionate and understanding. It didn’t pay to be jealous.

She pasted on a smile and continued down the hall, where Gabe directed Taylor into a walk-in robe the size of Lizzie’s whole bedroom. It was like in the movies, with row upon row of gowns hanging in garment protectors, and custom shelves for all the shoes. The wall on the right was filled with dozens of handbags, all very new and expensive looking. Taylor was clearly in fashion heaven. She raced over to the shoes and inspected them closely.

‘Which ones are being thrown away?’ she asked. She pulled out a pair of metallic heels with gold studs over the toe. ‘These?’

‘I think so. Just try them on and see if they fit.’

‘These are Gucci!’ Taylor squeaked to Lizzie.

Lizzie thought Taylor looked a bit like a vulture picking over a carcass. She sat down on a velvet covered ottoman in the middle of the room and watched as Taylor slid them onto her feet.

‘I just have to quickly check something,’ Gabe said apologetically to Taylor. ‘But you keep going. I won’t be long.’

Taylor was barely paying attention. ‘Sure.’

Gabe started to leave the wardrobe but then grabbed Lizzie’s hand on the way out and pulled her along with him.

She almost gasped at the unexpectedness of the gesture. With his other hand, he put a finger to his lips. She smiled.

‘I have to text my dad,’ Lizzie said to Taylor. ‘I’m just going to get my phone.’

‘Whatever.’ Taylor was staring at her feet in the mirror, mesmerised by the designer heels.

Gabe picked up speed, and Lizzie had to run to keep up. They veered off into a bedroom, with Gabe dragging her in and gently closing the door behind them.

‘What’s going…’ Lizzie started to ask before Gabe pushed her back against the wall and pressed his lips to hers.

She was caught off guard, but in the best way possible. Gabe’s mouth was warm and soft. He was clearly an experienced kisser. Lizzie was impressed, having assumed that Gabe’s jokey personality translated into someone who would be awkward romantically. How wrong she was.

Gabe moved his lips away from hers and feathered tiny kisses down her neck, turning her skin all goose-bumpy. She leaned her head back and sighed.

After a moment, he came back and planted one last firm kiss on her mouth before stepping back and grinning, pleased with himself.

‘Ah, Lizzie. You are so, so amazing. Will you be my girlfriend?’

Lizzie giggled, touched by the cute way he was trying to impress her.

‘Were you just setting up distractions for everyone else so you could do this?’

‘Well I wasn’t going to risk publically crashing and burning if you turned me down.’

‘Is your mum really having a wardrobe clean out?’

‘Nope. But she doesn’t keep track of her stuff. Especially if it’s out of season. I’ll just give Taylor something from 2012.’

‘Cool. Well to get back to your question, yes. I would love to be your girlfriend. I think you’re pretty amazing too.’

He beamed and hugged her tightly.

‘I wish I’d done this last year.’

‘Yeah but you got way hotter over the summer. If you had tried to hook up with me last year, I might have rejected you,’ she joked.

‘Touché.’

‘Should we get back to Taylor and the guys?’

‘I guess,’ he said regretfully. ‘I would prefer to keep you here in my bedroom all afternoon so we can make out, but I probably wouldn’t be a very good host if I did.’

‘There’ll be more than enough time for that later,’ she assured him. ‘But just quickly, I have to do this again.’ She pulled his face in close to hers and softly but assertively kissed his lips. She let her tongue venture into his mouth for a split second.