That One Summer (The Summer Series)

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I was met by a rather sheepish-looking Bell and Stan.

  I paused. “Bell, you’re not dressed?”

  Belinda smiled coyly, taking in her cut-off jean shorts and T-shirt. “Oh yeah, um, if it’s all the same I think we might just stay here.” She looked at Stan beside her.

  “Oh, a romantic night in, then?” I teased.

  Stan sighed. “Not exactly.”

  Before he could explain, we heard, “HEADS!” A football hurtled through the darkness, and we quickly ducked.

  Ringer jogged into view, laughing. “Sorry,” he said, before he scooped the ball up near Stan.

  Ringer pushed in between Bell and Stan, slinking his arms around their shoulders. “We’re going to have so much fun. Anyone up for charades?”

  I cringed, thinking that the dodgy-looking Villa Co-Co sounded far more appealing. “Where’s Amy?” I asked, looking for Sean’s car.

  “Oh, um, she said she would meet you there.” Belinda winced.

  “What?” My head snapped around.

  “She said you could catch a lift back with Chris.”

  Oh did she now?

  “You’re going to need two cars to bring back the drunken hordes anyway,” Stan added.

  I heard Chris’s footsteps from behind. “You ready?” he asked unenthusiastically as he stood beside me.

  Wait until I catch up with my traitorous friends.

  “Lead the way.” I smiled sweetly.

  Chris turned to Ringer who was busy handballing the footy to himself. “You sure you’re not coming?”

  “And suffer through Sean and Toby having a deep and meaningful?” He shuddered. “I think not.”

  My interest piqued. Maybe Sean was actually taking the opportunity to have a heart to heart with Toby; maybe it would help and Tess and he would be all right. I really hoped so.

  I did as best as I could to keep up with Chris’s long, determined strides.

  “We’re in Ringer’s car,” he called over his shoulder as he made his way toward the large, canary yellow Ford.

  I expected many things from Chris, but one of them wasn’t opening the door for me. It stopped me in my tracks.

  His elbow rested on the door frame, his brows rising expectantly. “Something wrong?”

  “Uh … no, not all,” I said, quickly moving to slide into my seat. The door closed after me as Chris sauntered around the front of the car toward the driver’s side.

  Ha! Who said chivalry was dead?

  I worked to quickly apply some gloss onto my lips in the dark, patting the strawberry flavour on my bottom lip and pressing them together. In the mad rush I had had little chance to do anything else. I self-consciously ran my fingers through my hair before Chris opened the door and slid in next to me. Beyond the strawberry scented lip gloss, Chris’s sharp, musky aftershave filled the cabin.

  Aftershave on a fishing trip? Interesting.

  “So Villa Co-Co, huh? Sounds like a very happening kind of place,” I mused.

  Chris started the car, flashing a grin.

  “I’ll let you be the judge of that.”

  ***

  Villa Co-Co was a single-storey weatherboard hotel with a large verandah out the front. It sat back in the leafy confines of a blue gravelled drive that led off the main road. Blue, red and yellow party lights flashed along the entire length of the verandah roof. The only tropical clue bearing support to its name were the fish fern and bird’s nest palms housed in multi-coloured pot plants dotted around the entrance.

  I closed the passenger door. “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.”

  What struck me was the distance we had to park away; the makeshift car park on the abandoned dirt lot beside the hotel was absolutely packed with cars. One car was being pressed up against by a couple with wandering hands and thrusting tongues as we walked past. I quickened my steps to catch up to Chris.

  “There weren’t that many cars here before.” I clasped my arms around myself, warily eyeing the figures that loomed near the entrance of the hotel.

  “Must be the full moon that drives people out,” Chris said, looking up at the large illuminated disc in the sky.

  I gulped, looking at the eerie face smirking down at me from above. “Yeah, brings out all the crazies, you mean.”

  Chris stopped and I ran into his back with a yelp. There was a devilish glint in his eyes as he smiled, slow and wicked. “You have no idea.”

  Before I could question him, he laced his fingers with mine in a firm grip and led the way inside.

  Chris pushed his way through the front door and music assaulted my senses. I winced at the sound and the smell of cigarettes. It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, and for that matter the lighting too. It was so dark inside it seemed like we were in a nightclub, minus the sticky drink-stained carpet. Rose Tattoo’s ‘Bad Boy For Love’ screamed from the speakers. I involuntarily stepped closer to Chris, squeezing his hand tight, just to make sure he didn’t let go. This was one crowd I really didn’t want to get lost in. Unlike the subtle warm lighting that lit the open, airy Onslow Hotel, this place was small, dark and loud, and crammed with bodies ranging from the soiled work clothes of the toothless local timber cutter to the rowdy local in a grass-stained cricketing outfit shouting for shots at the bar. A group of girls chewed speculatively on their cocktail straws as they looked Chris up and down. Their eyes dimmed as they landed on me. And that wasn’t even what dominated the entire bar space – lining the bar was a sea of leather-clad, tattooed, hairy bikers. All we needed was a drunken sailor and a go-go dancer and it would truly complete the picture. Chris smiled down at me as if he were revelling in my unease.

  “Want a drink?” he shouted, smiling wickedly as he dragged me nearer the bar.

  “No! No.” I dug in my heels. “I mean shouldn’t we find the others first?”

  Safety in numbers, right?

  I could only imagine what the others were thinking of this place; they were probably in a corner somewhere, looking on with the same wide-eyed horror that I was. The sooner I located them, the sooner we could all link arms and make an escape back to the cars and the campsite.

  No wonder Ringer had returned – that should have been a red flag right there.

  My gaze swooped around the dark, crowded space, hoping that one of the flashing party lights would flash onto a familiar face. And it did.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  Chris followed my eye line to fix on what had me so stunned.

  “Is that Ellie?” I asked. “She’s dancing in a cage.”

  “Are you honestly surprised?” laughed Chris as he started to lead me through the crowd, drinks forgotten.

  “Uh, you mean am I surprised at Ellie or the fact that there is a human-sized cage in the bar?”

  Go-go dancer – check.

  “Fair point,” he said. He manoeuvred us through the crowd with expert ease and guided me toward a booth near the back of the pub. It sat next to a stage that had band equipment set up on it. The name scrawled across the drum kit read ‘Spank the Monkey’. I could only hope that it was their night off.

  Sean, Toby and Adam sat at the table completely unaware of our approach until Chris slammed his hand on the table, causing their heads to comically spin around and their hands to grab for their beers.

  “Look what I found,” Chris announced, tilting his head toward me. “She was chatting up some bikers at the bar; thought I better intervene.” He guided me toward a seat.

  “How about you go dance in a cage somewhere?” I smiled sweetly as I sat down.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Adam piped up. “Ellie has five more minutes.”

  “So there’s a time limit, is there?” I asked.

  “There is when there’s a bet on,” Adam grinned.

  “A bet?” Chris asked. He sat next to me so I shifted a little on the bench seat. There wasn’t much room; I felt him pressed right next to me, his body heat elevating
my own.

  I was somewhat distracted when Toby spoke.

  “Adam bet Ellie she wouldn’t have the guts to dance in the cage for ten minutes.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s Ellie, of course she’s going to take the bet.”

  “Exactly.” Adam beamed. “Best bet I ever lost.”

  We all tilted our heads toward the cage where Ellie was imprisoned.

  “With a friend like you …” I shook my head, trying not to find it so funny.

  Adam finished the last of his beer. “I better go and see how she’s doing; do you think she would find it funny if I tried to slip a fiver in the cage?”

  “I think you might get kicked in the face,” I said with a laugh.

  “Now that I would pay to see,” said Sean.

  Adam flipped us the bird, picked up his empty beer glass and disappeared into the crowd.

  I wondered where the other girls were but I didn’t need to wonder for too long. An ear-piercing scream was so shrill it could be heard over even the loudest of music.

  “Tammy!” Amy screeched as she dragged Tess through the masses, pushing people out of the way to reach our table. “You made it!”

  “No thanks to you,” I glowered.

  “Oh, don’t be like that.” She waved off my words.

  “You know you are going to give me serious abandonment issues if you keep leaving me behind,” I said.

  “Not to worry, Chris will always be there to give you a lift,” Amy said with an obnoxious wink-wink. Oh my God, she was such a dork, I half expected her wink to come with a nudge-nudge. And the fact that she had done it in front of everyone, I could feel myself blanch. I had thought that her leaving me behind to ride with Chris was some form of punishment. It appeared not. She raised her brows in a ‘hubba-hubba’ kind of way and looked between me and Chris. Oh my God! Was she seriously trying to play Cupid? My insides twisted.

  “How much have you had to drink?” Sean mused suspiciously.

  “Not much.” Amy shrugged, swaying on her feet.

  Tess held up six fingers behind Amy’s back. Not that that told us much: six shots or six pints? Whatever it added up to, it was six of something too many.

  “You always were a two-pot screamer,” said Chris.

  Amy’s eyes cut Chris an acidic look. “At least I know how to have fun,” she snapped.

  “Tammy, come dance, this place has the BEST music,” she said, leaning over Chris and grabbing my hand. Amy’s tunnel vision as she strode away, regardless of who or what was between her and the dance floor, made my moving past Chris jerky and awkward. I tried not to decapitate him as Amy pulled at my arm.

  “Sorry,” I whispered as I almost fell on top of him when trying to get to my feet. Tess took my other hand.

  “Just go with it.” She laughed as we were dragged through the crowd to what I guessed was a dance floor.

  Go with it? I thought. As if I had any other choice.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I didn’t know how Ellie managed to dance ten minutes in a cage, but she did.

  Ten minutes on the dance floor and I was looking for an exit. It wasn’t that I was unfit; I mean, I ran marathons for fun. But this was a different kind of marathon. No fresh air, no natural light, and no fluids for hydration. My enthusiasm was fading fast.

  I bumped into a couple dry-humping next to me who were certainly getting rehydrated with each other’s fluids. I cringed and danced away. By now Ellie was free from her cage and getting swung around the dance floor by Adam with their famous version of dancing. Kind of like … If Kate Bush and Mick Jagger had a love child, it would dance like Adam and Ellie.

  I was doing my best nonchalant sidestep away, when one of my favourite songs started. I turned to point at Amy, who was already pointing at me, and we squealed with excitement at each other as the Eurythmics’ ‘When Tomorrow Comes’ blared from the speakers.

  I was filled with renewed energy all of a sudden and transported to my youth as Amy and I started to dance and sing all the lyrics to a song we knew off by heart. It didn’t matter that we were in a dive of a hotel, surrounded by seedy strangers – at that moment it was just Amy and me on the dance floor. It was as though we were at a school social or at the blue light disco at the back of the Onslow, bullying the DJ to play our favourite songs.

  It was just us, two best friends having a good time, until I felt the slide of a hand along my lower back. I spun around in surprise and collided with a chest; I looked up and my eyes locked with Chris’s.

  “Do you want a drink?” he asked, leaning toward my ear, his breath tickling my skin.

  Momentarily dazed, I nodded yes. His hand left my waist and he peeled off toward the bar. My heart pounded – having realised it was Chris vying for my attention, even after the jolt of excitement had shot through me, as quickly as it had come the disappointment soon followed as he left.

  What had I expected, for him to take my hand and lead me onto the dance floor like Patrick Swayze? Chris didn’t do dancing; he did staring sullenly from the side, or trash-talking about guy stuff with the guys. I was an idiot to think anything else.

  “What was that about?” yelled Amy, dancing in front of me.

  I shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “That look on your face doesn’t say nothing,” Amy said. “What did he say?”

  “He just asked if I wanted a drink.”

  “Ugh! Forever the barman.” Amy rolled her eyes.

  I couldn’t help but think she was right; it was always as if he was on duty, as if he couldn’t just relax and be himself, whoever that was. I thought I had seen glimpses of it in the car, but that’s all it was, a taunting flash of someone else that never stayed around.

  “What’s going on?” Tess intervened, trying to catch her breath as she took a moment from tearing up the dance floor.

  “Oh, Chris is getting Tammy a drink,” Amy said.

  “Nice of him to ask me, I’m dying here,” Tess said, fanning herself.

  “Where’s Toby?” I asked. It was an innocent enough question, but when the light dimmed in her expression I regretted it immediately.

  “He went back to the campsite,” Tess said.

  “Oh.” It’s all I could manage; this was definitely not normal Tess and Toby behaviour. Any talk Sean must have had with him – if he had – obviously hadn’t helped.

  I felt kind of stupid about the pang of disappointment I had over being asked if I wanted a drink. Seriously. If that was my biggest issue …

  An ice-cold sensation pressed against my back and I gasped and jumped away, spinning around to see a devilish gleam in Chris’s eyes.

  “Here you go,” he said, passing me a raspberry Vodka Cruiser.

  I took it from him. “Thanks … I guess.”

  He just grinned and walked back to the table where Sean sat.

  “Ugh! Seriously, when are you two just going to get it on already?” said Amy.

  A flushed Ellie leaned her elbow on Tess’s shoulder and wiped sweat from her brow.

  “Sorry?” I asked, trying not to choke on my drink.

  “Why don’t the two of you just do it already?” she repeated.

  I laughed nervously, hoping it didn’t sound forced. “How much have you had to drink tonight?” I asked.

  Ellie straightened. “I’m as sober as a judge.”

  “A cage-dancing judge,” I mused, sipping on my Cruiser, hoping that the subject would be changed, and fast.

  “What are we talking about?” Adam appeared next to Ellie, passing her a beer.

  “NOTHING!” I said a bit too quickly, casting the others a dark, warning stare.

  They ignored it.

  “Be warned, Adam, you might not have the stomach for this,” said Amy.

  “The stomach for what?” asked Adam, his eyes widened in expectant excitement as if what we were discussing could possibly be gory or disturbing.

  I had to get out of there; I needed air and plenty of it. I had to break a
way from their knowing looks. The last thing I wanted was for them to confide in Adam, Chris’s brother. I knew he was kind of one of the girls, being Tess’s and Ellie’s best friend and all, but still. At the end of the day, he was Chris’s younger brother. I could only imagine that this kind of knowledge would be used as hours and hours of torture against Chris.

  “I’ll be right back, I just have to get some air,” I announced quickly, before dodging my way through the crowd. I hit the front door, pushed it open and ran out to grab the wooden rail. I took a deep breath; the clean air was glorious – it was as if I could get drunk on the stuff. Instead, I eyed my bottle of vodka, still in my hand. I stared at it for a long moment; well, if I was going to be drunk it might as well be on the real stuff. I tipped the bottle back and sculled the bottle until my eyes watered.

  “Whoa, easy there,” Adam’s voice spoke from behind me.

  I lowered the bottle again, catching my breath and coughing.

  “You know, drinking alone is pretty sad,” he said, leaning against the railing.

  “I don’t think you could ever be alone at Villa Co-Co,” I said.

  “Ah, yes, I dare say each and every one of us will take a little piece of Villa Co-Co away with us.” Adam dreamily looked off into the distance.

  “Hopefully not alcohol poisoning,” I added.

  “Yeah, well, that’s Amy’s department, maybe Ellie’s, and if the night pans out right it’s sure as hell going to be Tess’s problem.”

  “How is Tess?” I asked and immediately thought I probably shouldn’t have.

  Adam sipped thoughtfully on his stubby, the same darkness casting over him as it had Tess. “She doesn’t say too much to me, probably because she knows that I’ll lose my shit. But put it this way – by the end of this trip, Toby and I will be having words and I won’t be pussyfooting around like Sean does.”

  Adam spoke each word as if it was a dark promise; it chilled me to the bone. “What’s he done, anyway? What is wrong with Toby?” I asked. “Seems like no one knows. Maybe that should be the question that’s being asked.”