Losing Faith (Surfers Way) (12 page)

“You’re incredible,” he whispers and smiles. He shifts my underwear back in place and then places a soft kiss on the fabric. I sit up and run my hands back through his chestnut hair.

“No, Q. You’re incredible. That was … insane.” I shift my butt back on the bed, and with a crooked finger, motion for him to join me.

He lies on top of me, supporting some of his weight with his arms positioned either side of my head. “Insane to watch.”

He guides his hips again between my legs, rubbing the hardness in his shorts against my über-sensitive flesh. I wrap my legs around him, needing to feel him close.

Is this where we have sex? Am I ready? Will I even know what the hell to do?

Crash!

A shattering bang against the glass screen door has it shaking on its hinges.

“What the hell?” Quade yells, shifting to stand in front of me in a protective stance.

A whimper cries out in the night, echoing like a wolf in the forest. A series of scratches grate against the screen door.

Crash!
Louder this time.

“
Goddamn it, Charlie,” I shout. “I’ll kill him,” I mutter to Quade, shaking my head.

“Charlie?” Quade says through a chuckle. “I’d be surprised if he gets up after that hit.”

Crash!

Never getting treats again, boy. Ever.

“Argh!” I cry out, scrambling from the bed, pulling on my top and fumbling to get my shorts back on. “If I don’t open up he’ll rip the screen mesh to shreds. When that boy wants in, he wants in.”

Quade wraps his arms around my hips. “I want in,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down. I stand on my tippy-toes to kiss him, but he still has to lean over so our lips meet.

“You’ll have to take up your complaint with Charlie.”

I open the door and in bounds my boy, waggling his tail and jumping up to greet me. After a quick sniff he moves on to Quade, his tongue hanging out of his head with excitement.

“Hey, boy,” Quade says, leaning down and ruffling his ears. Charlie fades into a pile on the floor, his front feet curled at his chest to allow easy scratching access. Quade, of course, obliges him.

“Stupid dog,” I whisper, but it’s not quiet enough to get past Quade’s ears judging by the sad puppy-dog look on his face.

“He just wants some attention,” Quade says.

“Yeah, well so do I, and a second ago so did you,” I say, pointing to the bulge in his shorts that isn’t as pronounced as it had been before I opened the door.

Quade lets out a loud breath and stands toe to toe with me, taking each of my hands in his at our sides. The fact that he’s still bare chested has me giddy. And yawning. The yawn that rips from my mouth is about as loud as Charlie’s get.
Way to charm him
.

“Eyes up here, girl,” he says, bringing my trance from his tanned, toned skin.

I shake my head and breathe in. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Maybe Charlie interrupting us is a good thing,” he says with a shrug.

I blink several times. “Huh?” is the best response I can come up with.

“I’m being selfish. I want you, Lace, desperately, but I wanna do it right.”

“Do it right? I didn’t think we were doing it wrong. In fact—”

“I’m going to woo you, Ms Marone,” he says with a jiggle of his perfectly groomed eyebrows.

I giggle and move my hand to cover my mouth. Once I’ve composed myself I place my hands on my hips. “Did you just say you’re going to woo me?”

“Yup.” He tugs my hand over to the bed. “Come on, we’re both tired.”

As I settle in his arms, a calm washes over me. I don’t know whether it’s Charlie or Quade snoring as my eyes are too heavy to check.

Sweet dreams, Quade.

As for you, Charlie? We’re having words tomorrow.

Her eyes. Those eyes …

Long blonde hair is tainted with red. A dark pool of liquid seeps beneath her head. Blood is spattered on her dress, over her perfectly tanned skin. I scream but nothing comes out.

Her head moves and she groans. I kneel at her side and grip her shoulders. “She’s alive!” I scream. “Get help!”

I look all around, searching for someone. Faith and I are all alone in the darkness of night.

No one is here to help. A thick fog settles around us.

“Find the truth,” Faith whispers. Her head lolls to the side then her features disappear, leaving me grasping at the mist that rolls over the bitumen. She’s gone.

“No!” I scream at the moon. The fog suffocates me, stealing the air from my lungs. I can’t breathe, I can’t …

My heart slows down until it squeezes blood for the last time …

A wet kiss lands on my cheek. A growling noise rumbles at my ear. I reach out. My heart starts pumping blood again, but it’s pumping too fast. I can’t breathe again …

Something hot and wet laps at my cheek … then my mouth. My hands grip something furry as my heart pounds.

My eyes fly open. Charlie is trying to make out with me.

“Gross, Charlie!” I push him off me, and he jumps from the bed.

That’s when I look next to me and realise that Quade is gone.
Well at least he didn’t just witness that.

I haven’t dreamt about Faith for ages. What triggered it? Was it Lily? Seeing a real-life reminder of my lost friend? Was it the ghost of Mack walking the streets of Runaway?

I wipe the sleep from my eyes, fighting off the sunlight, and get up. At the foot of my bed I find a note.

Lace

Had to get home early to get ready for school. We’ll talk wooing tomorrow

Q x

Well isn’t that just the cutest thing ever.

Charlie sniffs around the room like crazy. “He’s gone home,” I tell him.

He sits at my feet, staring at me with sad eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, boy. If anyone should be moping, it’s me, thanks to you gate-crashing the first sexy-time opportunity in years I’ve wanted to be a part of. Come on, out you go.” I let him outside and retreat back to my bed. I roll onto the side Quade slept on, breathing in the traces of his aftershave which have been ingrained into my pillow.

Sigh.
I’m never washing it.

I grab my phone from my bedside table and punch out a text.

Me: Miss you already. So does Charlie apparently x

I fluff up the Quade-scented pillow, tuck my phone beneath it, and pull the sheet over my head to block out the intruding sunlight. As I try to get back to sleep I picture his bare chest, the way his body-weight felt pressed on top of me, and the orgasm that has outrun all others as the Best Orgasm Known to Lacey.

I want more. I want him back in my bed. First I’ll send Charlie off to a boarding kennel for the night. I don’t care what it costs.

My phone buzzes beneath my head. I scramble to pull it out and smile when I see the response.

Quade: Damn, you’re in bed thinking about me? I was just thinking about you … Don’t worry Lace, the best is yet to come.

I guide my hand down my stomach, over my underwear, resting my fingers between my legs where I’m hot and sensitive to the touch. I could take a few minutes for myself, a quick O before I start the day, but I decide not to. If the best is yet to come, I’m putting my pleasure in Q’s hands.

Ay, those hands.

Now that’s definitely ruined sleep for me. Time for a cold shower.

---

“What did you get up to last night?” Mum asks.

I don’t make a habit out of lying to Mum, so I decide to tell her, but not the juicy details. “Um, went to dinner at the Royal and then kind of got stranded on Sanders Beach.”

Mum’s coffee cup clangs when it connects with the bench. Her jaw goes slack.

I hold up my hand, squashing any more questions, because the moment I think about the windows in Quade’s truck fogging up I’ll blush like a beetroot. “Don’t ask.”

“Fine, I won’t. On another note, what was Charlie fussing about? Your father said he was on the warpath last night.”

Quade and I getting busy.

“I dunno.” I say with a shrug. “Must’ve been a possum or something.”

Her smile grows wide. “Hmm. And what time did Quade leave this morning? I saw him leave.” She bats her eyelashes as if she has something stuck in her eye. “Hmm?”

“Mum!” I cry out a with a stamp of my foot, because I’m mature like that.

“It’s a simple question, young lady.”

“Mum, I’m not talking about this. Conversation over.”

She grins. “Fine then, tell me what you’re up to today.”

“Um, I guess first I’ll finish proofreading my assignment and then Lily and I will be working in the shop together at lunchtime. Then later I’ll go for a walk.” And by walk, Mum knows I mean visit Faith. It’s about time I talked to my best friend and admitted my feelings for her big brother. Let’s just see how crazy the wind gets up on the hill.

“Well done, darling,” Mum says pulling me into a hug. “You really set your mind to this diploma, and we couldn’t be prouder.”

Heat rises to my cheeks. It means the world getting the tick of approval from my parents. I guess the hard part comes next in trying to get a real job. Hopefully Lily is capable of more shifts soon and Dad is a bit more settled with the new arrangement. Then I can start looking around for work.
It’s happening, Faith. Adulthood, here I come.

“Thanks, Mum.”

“I’ll finish this coffee and then I’ll head into the shop until you and Lily get in. Are you planning on being on time today?” Her eyes widen, a smile curling at the side of her glossy lips.

“Yes, Mum,” I drawl.

“Your father tells me Lily’s a real go-getter,” she says, and takes a bite of her bagel smothered in cream cheese.

“Who says go-getter, Mum?” I tease, bumping my shoulder against hers. She offers me her bagel and I take a bite.

“I do,” she protests. “So you like her?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a good feeling about Lily.”

---

I reach Faith’s resting place and find a wilted yellow rose on top of the engraved stone.
The anniversary is fast approaching.
It bugs me that I’m never around to find out who leaves them here.
It must be
Mrs Kelly. She avoids me like the plague. After all, anyone else and I’d see them here.

I arrange some freshly picked wildflowers in the vase and top up the water with liquid from my drink bottle.

“Hey, sister,” I say on an exhale.

Hey, biatch.

“So, um, I kissed your brother,” I tell the ghost of my friend the moment my butt lands on the grass.

I brace myself for the crazy whirlwind. It doesn’t materialise as I expected. Instead, a cool, calm breeze whistles amongst the trees and fingers the ends of my hair. The wind takes away some of the anxiety I carried here with me.

“I mean, I did more than kiss him. I know that might be strange for you. Us together. Your bestie and your brother. I get that it might seem weird, but I love him—in a way, I always have.”

I outstretch my fingers amongst the groomed grass, closing my eyes, imagining her sitting opposite me, her long blonde locks swaying with the breeze, her blue eyes giving me their full attention.

“He makes me happy, Faith. Like
really
happy.”

I take a look around the cemetery, to make sure Quade or anyone else isn’t about to pop out of nowhere.
Time for girl-talk.

“I haven’t been with anyone since—fuck, since I royally screwed up after your wake and handed in my V-card with no memory of it.”

I scratch the back of my neck and let out a heavy breath. “So, pretend I’m not talking about Q for a minute. I know you and Byron never got to do it, but I’m kind of scared of having sex again. I mean, what if I really suck? What if I’m so bad Q changes his mind? I’ve read enough magazines for advice, but putting theory into practice has me nervous as hell.”

I open my eyes, met only by the grim reality of a headstone with my bestie’s name on it. A tear rolls down my cheek.
Another day without you.

“I just wish you were here. Every fucking day I wish that. I wish Mack would talk to me—shit, I don’t even know what she’s up to. She went off-grid. I’ve tried stalking her on Facebook, just like we used to do with the kids at school, but her account has been disabled since she left town. It’s like she couldn’t deal … at all.”

From the corner of my eye I spot Mr Moore pulling a green wheelie bin behind him as he slowly walks along the cracked path. He nods and stares at me.
Get your shit together, girl
.

I wipe the wetness from my cheeks and nod back, my way of letting him know I’m okay. He carries on down the path and out of sight. Seeing him, and wondering what his day-to-day life must be like after losing the love of his life, has me kicking my own arse for being so pathetic. Quade is very much alive and well, and we have decades ahead of us. Poor Mr Moore’s wife ran out of time.

“Enough sniffling from me, anyhow. Getting back to your brother for a sec. Apparently he’s going to woo me.”
And I haven’t been able to keep the smile from my face since he said it. I can’t get him off my mind either.

“I mean, I know he’s almost three years older than me, than us, but who actually says woo?” I chuckle softly to myself. “Anyway, don’t worry. I gave him a bit of shit over it.”

I kiss the tips of my fingers and place them on the ground in front me. “I hope you’ll be happy for me—for us. Anyway …” I stand and brush the grass from my clothes. “Love ya, Faith.”

I leave the cemetery with a lighter feeling in my heart and a spring in my step as I approach the primary school. As I walk the streets of Runaway, I can’t stop thinking about Quade. I must look like an idiot strolling around wearing a stupid-arse grin. I’m dying to see him in action at work.

When I reach the tall black gates of the schoolyard, the sweet sounds of kids playing fills my ears. On the oval beside the school hall, twenty-or-so kids are split into two groups with rows of orange witches hats strategically set up between them. Rather than let myself in and risk the wrath of the principal, I walk along the fence towards the playing field.

The class of kids kicking a soccer ball to each other look barely old enough to be in school. So frickin’ tiny! The hems of the sports shorts on some of them sit halfway down their shins. Some of their small bodies swim inside their giant-sized white polo shirts.

The embodiment of male perfection stands to the side, legs set shoulder-width apart, muscular forearms pointing this way and that. Quade sports a wide smile. It’s beautiful.

A squeal has Quade jumping into action and crouching down beside a young girl with long auburn pigtails. He kneels beside her and helps her to her feet.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Melissa. Next time just remember to always keep an eye on the ball.”

She rubs her bum with both hands and then throws her arms around him, her pigtails swishing around her shoulders. “You’re da best teacher, Mr Kelly,” she says in a sweeter-than-sweet voice.

He lets her hug him but it looks all kinds of awkward with his tight smile, his rigid shoulders, and the placement of his arms that maintain a distance from her.

Reaching the part of the fence closest to him, I call out, “Mr Kelly” in a sing-song voice, drawing his gaze and every small person who is now looking at me rather than practising their ball skills.

Hmm. Maybe not so subtle.

“Why don’t you go practice with Cadence, a little slower this time, okay?” he tells the injured girl, unwrapping her petite arms from his shoulders. She rushes off towards another child. Quade stands and walks towards me, his shoulders squared and a cheeky-as-anything grin on his face.

“Bit young, don’t you think?” I say, and then chew on my lower lip.

“I do like them younger, but twenty going on twenty-one is more my style. There’s one in particular that I’ve been thinking about. Hearing her scream last night was something else.”

“Shh!” I press my finger on his lips through the fence.

He smiles, gifting me with a beautiful dimple.

“I should kiss that smile clean off your face,” I bravely tell him.

“If I kiss you here right now, I’ll be breaking the hearts of about fifteen first-graders. They won’t be so keen on taking instruction after that.”

I laugh softly, reaching out and slipping my hand into his. He looks towards the front of the school where I know all too well that the principal’s office window faces the main playground. He turns back to me, letting out a loud breath.

Shit, I don’t want him to get into trouble. I probably should have gone into the office first and let Ms Riley know I was dropping by. I doubt she’d be impressed to find out I’ve coaxed her sexy Phys Ed teacher to the fence-line in the middle of a lesson.