The Boys of Summer (22 page)

“Oh, you know, enjoying the view.” I looked
out towards the dark smudge that would be Lake Onslow, speckled
with dotted lights from the town.

Toby steered us slowly closer towards the
edge where the lookout was more prominent.

“Whoa, hang on a sec,” Sean said, “you two
kids take a look at the pretty lights, I gotta go whizz.”

Sean climbed out and stumbled into the
night.

Toby smiled and placed Sean’s empty pot glass
in the cup holder. “Although I don’t doubt his authenticity,
something tells me he won’t be heading back in a hurry.”

I cast Toby a questioning look.

He drove forward bringing his ute closer
still to the edge. He pushed it into park and killed the engine,
flashing me a devilish grin.

“He’s afraid of heights.”

We were silent for a while as we stared at
the beauty of our little town. Growing up in Onslow seemed mundane,
even claustrophobic at times, but sitting above it, as we did now,
it looked well … kind of beautiful. Toby shifted and relaxed in his
seat. I became all too well aware that I was still pressed right up
against him, I hadn’t even bothered to move across when Sean had
gotten out. I was torn between scooting across, because that seemed
like the appropriate thing to do, or not saying a word; act like I
didn’t even notice and stay right where I was.

I chose to be ignorant a little bit
longer.

Toby gripped the steering wheel with one
hand.

“What made you think I was angry at you?”

Damn! Memory like a freakin’ elephant.

Just because I desperately wanted to forget
the things that came out of my mouth didn’t guarantee others
would.

“Oh no … I just thought you seemed a bit
quiet tonight, that’s all. I didn’t think it was solely directed at
me.”

Yes I did.

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with my
answer.

He laughed a breath through his nose.

“I think you would be the last person I could
be angry with.”

My head swung around to look at him but his
eyes were diverted as his fingers played with a thread on his
shirt.

“I’m sorry about how Ang treated you
tonight,” he said.

My mouth gaped. “It’s not your fault,” I
said.

Angela had pronounced Tic Tac in front of
Toby as a means to deliberately humiliate me. Fresh anger boiled to
the surface. Actually, yeah, maybe he should apologise for her. It
was because of boys like him thinking she was a goddess that gave
her grounds to be so cocky. My silence must have made Toby
uncomfortable because he pressed further.

“You know, I had a nickname in high school.”
My head snapped up, that had my attention.

Oh God, he knew, he heard. Of course he
did.

“Oh?”

He gripped both hands on the steering wheel
sighing deeply as if psyching himself up to tell me. I tucked my
foot under my leg, settling in, waiting for Toby to continue.

“They used to call me Toby–Wan.”

Okaaaay? I frowned, unsure as to how it
compared.

He looked at me expectantly.
“Toby-Wan-Kenobi,” he repeated slowly, as if my first language
wasn’t English.

My hand flew up to my mouth to mask the smile
that automatically formed on my lips.

Oh please, don’t laugh.

He smirked. “You think that’s funny?”

I shook my head violently, biting my lips,
trying not to lose it.

“On the contrary, Star War’s references are
hot. Gives you street cred.”

“Yeah, not quite.”

“I thought you were going to say Tobias.”

“That, and they used to call me
Toblerone.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t object to being named after
that.”

Toby shook his head in disbelief. “Chicks.
Always with the chocolate.”

“Always!”

We stared at each other in silence, neither
one of us looking away.

“Thanks for telling me your nickname.” I
smiled. “It’s not quite the same, but I can appreciate it.”

Toby’s gaze never wavered from mine. “People
will always make fun of what’s different, Tess.”

An uncomfortable shiver ran down my spine.
Even Toby knew I was different. That I was awkward, clumsy and
clueless.

I broke eye contact, untucked my leg and sat
up straight. “Yeah, I’ll definitely look out for that circus when
it comes to town next,” I said, focusing intently on the twinkling
stream of car lights below.

That was Toby’s cue to insist that he didn’t
mean it that way. I was not a freak, and he was welcome to gush
about how wonderful I am.

Instead he laughed, which had me frowning his
way again.

“What?”

“Well, if they set you in the kissing booth,
let me know, I am always willing to donate for a worthy cause.”

Was he flirting or being friendly?

Toby collected himself and shifted in his
seat, his arm brushing against mine, causing my skin to prickle
with the sensation of his skin on mine. “Sorry I dragged you up
here, I sort of didn’t even ask if you wanted to?”

“No! No, I wanted to. I mean you really
didn’t have to give me a lift home, I didn’t expect you to.”

Moon rays filtered through the windshield,
giving the cabin an otherworldly glow.

Toby’s perfect teeth were illuminated when he
smiled. “You know, you are the worst winner!” He shook his head.
“Ever since you won the bet, you’ve been apologising. Just go with
it, enjoy it, because I assure you, next time …” - he leaned closer
- “… you will not be the winner.” He pulled back, smug.

I curved a brow. “Next time?”

He nodded. “I fully intend to redeem
myself.”

“Want a chance to rebuild your shattered ego,
do you? I bet you’re itching to fix my bike so you can be rid of me
once and for all.” I shouldered him gently, teasing him as I would
Adam. And then I realised what I had done; I had treated him like
my friends. He looked down at his shoulder, then up at me. His eyes
shadowed with untold meanings that I couldn’t read.

“What if I didn’t want to fix your bike?” he
said in all seriousness.

“Why, is my company so stimulating that you
can’t bear the thought of being without me?” I teased
nervously.

I was aiming for light and airy, but
something must have gone wrong with my delivery because Toby’s face
went blank. He looked out into the lights of Onslow, ran his tongue
over his bottom lip and sighed.

“Bring the bike in on Monday, and I’ll have a
look at it.”

“Oh, okay, sure.” My heart sank. That was
rather anticlimactic.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
A silent awkwardness had swept over us.

“We better get you home. The last thing you
need is for rumours to circulate tomorrow that you went parking up
the Point with Toby Morrison.”

A thrill shot through me at the thought of
such a thing. A girl could get used to that idea.

“I can see it now, love triangle splashed
across the local news,” I said, again attempting with the lame
nervous humour.

Toby frowned as he started up the car. “Yeah,
Ang would love that.”

And there it was, how to kill a conversation.
All good humour died a sudden death. We picked up Sean who was
socialising with the masses and edged our way down the winding
ghostly roads of the ranges. I was now definitely ready to go
home.

It was 2 am when I tiptoed into my
house.

I was unaccustomed to such big days and heavy
nights that had me traipsing across the countryside and emotionally
dragging myself backwards through a hedge. I was exhausted and
managed to crash fully clothed into bed. Judging by my numb arm the
next morning, I’m pretty certain I never moved, not once.

When you lie to your olds there comes a
certain responsibility to follow through the next day. A shadow of
paranoia followed my every move. I had some scrambled eggs and a
side of guilt for breakfast, trying not to make eye contact with my
chatty mum. They grilled me with a myriad of questions, like, “What
did you have for tea?”, “What movies did you watch?” and “What time
did you get home?” I had to think on my feet with my best ‘I’m not
guilty’ responses. My inner monologue was screaming
liar!
I
tried not to choke on my breakfast juice as my conscience laid into
me with steel-capped boots. My next point of call was to word up
Ellie, and fast. That’s if she wasn’t too sleep-deprived from last
night’s escapades.

Ellie’s phone rang out, and I was quietly
pleased. I wasn’t in the mood to chase her down and listen as she
retold what an amazing night she’d had. I placed the receiver back
on the hook and sighed with relief. Oh well, I’d see her at work.
Work, ugh
. Still suffering from my own sleep deprivation, I
had to really psyche myself up for my afternoon shift. The only
thing that kept pushing me through was that Sean and Toby said they
would come in and annoy us for some lunch. Every time the front
door of the main bar screeched open with its hundred-year-old
unoiled hinges, my heart rate spiked with anticipation. Mostly it
then plunged just as quickly as my searching eyes saw crusty
locals, or nameless tourists, pour through the door.

I had suspected an unbearable afternoon with
Ellie’s voice ringing in my ears as it usually did the day after
her conquests, so when I was met by her with silence that stretched
on for an uncharacteristic age, well, I admit, it got the better of
me.

“So how was your night last night?” I asked
as she fumbled in the linen cupboard with some tablecloths.

Ellie shrugged and offered a weak smile. “It
was alright.”

“Just alright?” I tipped my head, trying to
see her eyes.

She nodded lightly but I saw her chin quiver,
and with that, friend mode kicked into gear. Lunch had not
officially begun yet, so I ushered Ellie into the ladies’ room. I
guided her into a cane chair that was wedged in the corner next to
the sink and hand dryer. This place was so handy for meltdowns and
emergencies.

I sat her down, making sure she didn’t bump
her head on the hand dryer. “Ellie, what’s the matter? Did someone
hurt you?” I crouched in front of her.

Her eyes widened. “No, nothing like that,
it’s just …” Her voice broke away.

I grabbed her hand to urge her to talk.
“Well, what then?”

Her big, blue eyes welled with tears as she
looked down at me.

“Why am I always so stupid? It’s like I’m
floating above my body, and I can see the things I’m doing and hear
what I’m saying and I go to scream but nothing comes out.”

Had Ellie had a breakthrough during the
night? Guilt usually didn’t follow Ellie’s escapades. “What brought
this on?”

The tears began to flow now, and my heart
broke for her. Ellie was the rock in our relationship, so seeing
her crumble … well, it really rocked me, no pun intended.

Struggling as to what to do, I grabbed her
some toilet paper.

“I saw Stan on the way to work.” She took it
from me and blew her nose.

I cringed at the thought; this town was far
too small. Maybe Ellie wasn’t as immune to his presence as she
pretended.

“Was he mean to you?”

I imagined Stan giving her the cold shoulder,
a death stare, even maybe calling her on a few home truths. After
last night, any of those reactions would have been warranted. I
felt awful for thinking it.

“That’s the thing,” she sobbed, “he was
really nice to me, lovely in fact. The same Stan, he treated me
like nothing had happened. If anything, he stumbled over his words
and apologised to me and said that he didn’t mean what he
said.”

Well, yeah, I could have told her
that
. Oh Stan! Will you ever find out that your maturity in the
matter had made such a breakthrough? I wondered.

“So, this Wes guy?” I pressed.

“I don’t want to talk about him, I don’t even
want to think about him, I just want to pretend none of it even
happened. Then I don’t have to think about what a horrible person I
am.”

“You’re not horrible; you’re hard work, I’ll
admit, but you are the sweetest person I know.” I shrugged. “I love
you.”

“You’re the only one.” She blew her nose
again.

I knew this was coming from deeper wounds,
from a family in which she felt like a third wheel to her parents’
independent lifestyle.

“And Adam, and we’re awesome.”

She laughed through her tears. “Yeah, I guess
you are pretty awesome.”

“Are you sure that Wes guy didn’t do
anything?”

“No, he was fine. I’ve had worse. And after
seeing Stan this morning, it just made it hit home all the
more.”

It was right there and then that I, Tess
McGee, decided to step up to a challenge, for once. A cunning plan
stirred within my brain. It was called Operation Mend Stan. I
wouldn’t voice my genius; Ellie was still pretty raw and needed
some time. I had also seen the hurt and anger in Stan’s eyes last
night; he could poker face his feelings all he liked, but I knew he
would still be angry inside. I would have to proceed with caution,
but I knew it was the way to go.

After pacifying Ellie and managing to sneak
back into the restaurant away from Melba’s scrutiny, I grabbed a
heap of serviettes to take into the main bar. What met me there had
me grinning from ear to ear. Sean, Ringer, Stan and Toby were all
lined up along the bar, throwing beer nuts into each other’s
mouths.

“You do realise that unwashed, dirty old man
hands have been in those nut bowls,” I said.

Just as Stan caught the last flying nut he
broke out into a coughing fit, spluttering as my words resonated.
All eyes swung around to me. But it was Toby’s broad boyish smile
that really caught my attention. It soon fell into a cringe as the
four of them picked up their drinks and washed the beer nuts down,
with repulsed shudders. Sean pushed his beer nut bowl away with
distaste.