The Lies We Tell (20 page)

The real estate agent was delighted to see them — there had apparently been little interest. Sia fobbed him off as best she could then headed down the hall to the main bedroom.

She stood in the doorway and frowned. “The bed’s in the wrong spot.”

“What do you mean?”

“It should be here, against this wall, so you see it as soon as you open the door. Sienna and I would wait in our bedroom doorways and as soon as the door opened we’d run down the hall and jump onto the bed because that was the sign we were allowed in.” She smiled at the sweet memory. “I was standing right here, like this, when I first saw what my dad had taken from yours. He was in the kitchen, a complete mess, and I remember looking at the pile of objects on his doona and thinking what silly things to have stolen, and why was it such a big deal? But it was upsetting him so much I decided to move it from his sight, so I picked everything up and took it to my bedroom.”

She turned and walked to the bedroom just down the hall. This room had just a chair and a table in it — obviously it wasn’t being used as a bedroom and the owner had decided to make it look like a room rather than a bare space to help sell the house.

It was, however, still covered in the pale blue wallpaper that she’d put up as a teenager.

Sia walked into the centre of the room and turned in a slow circle. She could almost hear her teenage self in here. The laughter. The tears. The dreams.

The number of times she’d lain here, fantasising about Todd Lansing and now here he was. That banished all the strange emotions that had started to rise in her father’s room, thinking about that fateful day.

“Come here.” She held out her arms.

Todd walked forward and she wrapped them around his waist and pressed herself against him.

“Finally, you’re in my bedroom.”

Todd kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Actually, I am.” She leant her cheek against his chest. “I needed this. I needed to see these rooms as an adult, understand, forgive myself for doing what I did.”

“You were sixteen, and you were scared you were about to lose everything,” Todd said. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

Sia looked up into his shining blue eyes and all her fears, her concerns, flowed away. “I’m sorry that your dad died,” she said.

“I’m sorry your dad became a douche.”

“I’m sorry your dad wasn’t happy.”

Todd gave her a squeeze. “I won’t make the same mistake he did. I won’t give up on what I know I need to be happy.”

Sia moved her arms from around his waist to around his neck, arching her back to imprint herself on him.

“You know what would be hot?” she whispered. “Finally getting Todd Lansing naked in my bedroom.”

“There’s no bed,” Todd said, even as she felt the reaction of his body to her words.

“There’s the chair,” Sia said. “And the real estate agent is just outside.”

Sia squealed as Todd picked her up. He sat on the chair and positioned her on his lap so she straddled him. Then his hand was sliding up her inner thigh, pressing ever so lightly against her panties and making her body tremble.

“Don’t ever stop surprising me,” he said. “My life was so boring before you.”

“Don’t ever stop protecting me,” Sia said. “My life was so unsure before you.”

“So,” Todd said and he pressed, just a little harder, with his thumb against her clitoris and Sia gasped. “Are you going to commit your heart to me now?”

“I’ll have to,” Sia said. “My dad brought me up to be a good girl. I can’t make out with a boy I’ve brought home in my own bedroom and not marry him.”

The words ended on a moan as Todd pushed her panties aside and slowly pressed one finger into her.

“Hope you’ll find this as hot as when you made my fantasy come true,” he said.

Sia was about to reassure him it was all going brilliantly when the real estate agent stepped into the room.

“So, how are things?” he said brightly.

“Fine,” said Todd casually. His fingers were much less casual as he drew the one out and then pushed two into her.

Sia gripped his upper arms, struggling to retain the noises her body was desperate to make. It was so incredible, to feel Todd stretching her body, making her wet, making her ache while a complete stranger stood just metres away looking at them.

When Todd made a fantasy come true, he went all out.

“Well, I’m shutting up now, so I’ll have to escort you out.”

“That’s a shame,” Todd said. The two fingers came out and three went in and Sia’s body was so tense with struggling not to move that she wondered if it would lock into place and she’d be frozen in time. Dear Lord, what she wouldn’t give to be able to ride his fingers right now. “My girlfriend and I were having a serious discussion about it. Mind if you give us a few more minutes?”

“Of course not.” The real estate agent’s eyes lit up as if it were his nether regions being tortured, not Sia’s. “Just a few minutes.”

He left, but Sia didn’t hear his footsteps move further down the hall.

“He’s waiting just outside,” she whispered.

“Then you’d better not scream,” Todd said and with the fingers inside her, slid his thumb across her clitoris. In a clear voice that could be heard by the real estate agent he said, “What do you think?”

Sia’s ability to think was quickly dissipating. “About what?” She ground against his hand, biting her lower lip to stop the groan of delight. Deep within, tension built and she knew if this kept up, she’d be coming in a matter of moments.

“About this house? I know it’s not much now, but we’ll fix it up. Imagine how great it could be. How, how, great.”

He punctuated each word with a movement of his fingers, a slide of his thumb and Sia knew she was digging her fingernails into his arms but she didn’t care. She’d never been this turned on.

She looked at Todd and managed to find a few spare brain cells to say, “I trust you to make it good no matter what, darling.”

“That’s my girl.” His hand shifted and then he was pinching her clitoris between thumb and little finger, the rest of his digits jammed high within her.

It was the last straw and Sia came, clenching her teeth to withhold the cry and bucking against his hand.

It was brief but glorious and then she collapsed against his chest, panting.

“So now I guess you’ll have to marry me,” Todd said. “Having been such a naughty girl. And in your own bedroom too.”

Sia nodded, her body resting sated against him. It seemed that finally, she would get the happiness and satisfaction she deserved.

It was a year to the day from Frank’s conviction that Sia stood barefoot on a beach in Wollongong and married Todd.

She, Todd and Sienna had decided Wollongong was a good idea anyway. As much as they all loved Oberon, being able to escape the shadow of their fathers and start a new life appealed.

Sienna loved the new university. Brock and Ebonny fretted for a while but soon settled in to their new schools and made new friends. Todd’s advocacy group was mostly run online and had already proven invaluable for a number of gay men around the country.

Sia’s successful exhibition had resulted in some commissioned work that enabled her to support her family comfortably in their new home.

After the ceremony, the reception was held back at their home — a weatherboard cottage in a suburb half way between the escarpment and the beach.

As the party grooved on, Todd drew Sia into their bedroom, and closed the door.

“With all these people around?” Sia murmured as Todd pushed the straps of her white slip dress off her shoulders.

“Just the way you like it,” Todd said and Sia smiled into his kiss.

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