Murfey's Law (17 page)

‘Oh shit. And Jonah?’
 

‘No, it was before he joined, thank god,’ he paused, taking a few slow calming breaths then carried on, ‘Dad blamed himself of course. Mum was his true love, you know? The one. He never stopped grieving even for a minute. Then a few months after the funeral he said he was going for a swim. He walked out into the sea and didn't come back. We never found him.’
 

Zeb turned to face her, his eyes glistened. Holding out his hands he took Lori's fingers in his and pulled her into him. It was the same embrace he'd wrapped her in when they'd been out on the water, the day he'd given her the opportunity to say goodbye to her own father.
 

Pulling out of Lori's arms Zeb tucked his hands around her neck and dipped his head as he tilted her face up to his. Pressing his mouth against hers he kissed her, slowly at first, gently teasing her lips with his tongue. When her fingers dug firmly into the fabric of the shirt and the strong muscles of his back the kiss became more urgent. His thumbs gripped harder against her cheeks and she stepped forward leaning the length of her torso against his. The hard buckle of his belt pressed almost painfully against her belly and she felt him stir against her pelvis.
 

‘Woo Hoo!’ A car full of teenagers sped past, honking their horn and jeering out the windows at the passionate sight on the side of the road.
 

Zeb stepped back still holding Lori's neck. A grin spread across his face. ‘We should probably get going.’
 

‘Memory lane is Fisherman's Bay?’ Lori looked puzzled as Zeb drove through the outer suburbs and into town via a bridge she hadn't even known existed. 

‘Kind of, you grew up here right? Around the same time I grew up in Murfey's Beach.’ He glanced across at her.
 

‘Well, yeah, I guess so, I left just before I turned twelve. You've lived in Murfey's Beach your whole life?’
 

‘I have, and every New Years Eve when we were kids our parents would bring us down here for...’ He didn't get to finish before Lori cut in eagerly.
 

‘The bridge party?’ She felt a flutter of excitement in her chest.
 

Zeb grinned but didn't answer her. Instead he turned at the next set of traffic lights and drove as far as the road would go in the direction of the harbour. Steering the car down a side lane and into a driveway Zeb lowered the window and leant out, pressing an unmarked intercom button with his thumb.
 

As the little black box in the tall stone wall beside him buzzed into life he cleared his throat and announced his presence, ‘Sergeant Turner. I need access to the car park please Constable.’
 

The enormous wrought iron gates juddered open and Zeb drove through, giving a little wave to the camera hung high above them. Once inside the walled compound he manoeuvred the car into a space in the middle of a row of four-wheel drive vehicles. Their fluorescent police markings glittered under a set of bright floodlights.
 

‘Ever been arrested?’ Zeb flashed his teeth at her knowing full well she hadn't.
 

She bit her lip and shook her head as they climbed out of their air conditioned cocoon. Regardless of her innocence, it made her nervous just being in the car park of the local area command, she hoped his plans didn't involve going inside.
 

‘Are we leaving the car here?’
 

‘Yes, leave your bag too, you won't be needing it,’ Zeb ordered authoritatively.
 

‘But what about...’ she begun to question then thought better of it and shut the door.
 

‘No. Trust me.’ Removing the notes from his wallet Zeb tucked the money back in to his pocket and threw the leather case along with his phone on to the seat slamming the door shut and locking it, ‘Wait here.’
 

Lori watched as he jogged across the car park and banged his fist on a large metal studded door. It opened and a uniformed man greeted Zeb with a grin. She couldn't hear what was said but blushed anyway when the officer, presumably the Constable that had let them in, glanced over to where she stood. Holding his hand out Zeb passed him his car keys and turned to jog back to her.
 

‘Ready?’ he entwined his fingers in hers.
 

‘As ready as I'll ever be.’ Lori laughed nervously at the glint in his eyes.
 

Walking through the dark lane and out onto the road they rounded the corner of the harbour. As the bridge came in to Lori's view, Zeb stopped and turned to her. ‘Bring back memories?’
 

‘Oh my god yes!’ She squeezed the hand that had guided her here.
 

Built sixty years ago the long narrow iron truss bridge replaced the old Fisherman's Bay ferry that ran from the north to the south across the mouth of the river, much to the delight of the residents. For years it had been the location of the town's New Years Eve celebrations until demand meant that closing it down for a whole evening was no longer feasible. Sadly, in the late nineties the parties had stopped. Last year though, a second bridge, two kilometres upstream opened, giving an alternative route for local traffic, and if necessary all traffic at times when the main bridge was being maintained. Under public pressure and in desperate need of electoral votes the town council agreed to re-ignite the old tradition. This year, the first year of its return, they promised the bridge party would be back with a bang. 

Brightly lit strings of white lights had been hung like a spider's web under the iron girders. It created a sort of sparkling tent above the thousands of people who were all laid out on rugs or sat in camping chairs in the road. Every cuisine imaginable was represented in the food stalls that ran in single file along the entire length of the bridge. One section had been set aside for live music and in front of the large raised stage where a local band were showcasing their talents a huge group of young kids danced with abandon. 

After walking from one end to the other and then back again, stopping to watch the entertainment and taste some of the delights along the way, Lori and Zeb carried their plastic cups of Ginger Beer carefully over the heads of the picnickers and made their way towards the opposite side of the bridge. Away from the crowd they sat down on the road, their backs against the rails separating the party from the water below.
 

‘You ok?’ Zeb leant in to ask.
 

‘Absolutely.’ Lori smiled and took a gulp of her drink as she eyed a couple kissing tenderly. They were stretched out on a thick layer of blankets that protected them from the ground.
 

‘Do you think they're in love? Or lust?’ he followed her gaze and rested his hand on her thigh.
 

The temperature had hardly shifted and the air was still muggy, even this late, yet Lori could tell her face was burning. Thinking about it for a moment she answered, ‘Can't they have both?’
 

Zeb didn't answer. Instead he ran his fingers just under the hem of her dress causing a pulse to flicker between her legs. It was a sensation he had stirred in her before but she hadn't been able to sate. Reaching a little further under the fabric Zeb's fingers caused Lori's breathing to quicken.
 

Tucking her arm behind him she gripped his belt and dipped her thumb into the waistband at the back of his shorts releasing just enough shirt that she could slide her hand in against the warm skin at the small of his back. Just as she smoothed the palm of her hand up his spine Zeb let out a small groan.
 

‘We need to go,’ his voice urged.
 

The crowd had risen to their feet in anticipation of the fireworks that were going to be released from a barge on the inland side of the river at midnight, any minute. Standing up Zeb gripped Lori's wrist and pulled her effortlessly off her bottom.
 

‘Where are we going?’ She thought they would have seen the fireworks just fine from where they were.
 

‘Over there.’ He nodded to the other side.
 

As every single light on the bridge flicked off plunging them in to complete darkness thousands of voices began the countdown.
 

TEN!
 

Zeb kissed her hard and spun around pulling her straight through the crowd toward to opposite side of the bridge.
 

NINE!
 

‘What the hell are we doing?’ Lori yelled frantically as she bumped into bodies left and right of her.
 

Zeb either couldn't hear or wasn't listening.
 

EIGHT!
 

Bursting out of the crowd he dragged her through the gap separating two food stalls and they popped out again on the other side where there was less than a meter between the back of the tents and the railing at the very edge of the bridge.
 

SEVEN!
 

A sudden childhood memory flashed through Lori's mind. ‘Oh no! No, no, no!’
 

‘You said you trusted me Lorikeet.’ Zeb's hands held her face and he searched her eyes for her agreement.
 

SIX!
 

Lori was frozen to the spot.
 

FIVE!
 

‘Lorikeet come on, this is our only chance. Don't let fear stop you from throwing yourself into something that could be the best experience of your life.’ Zeb bowed his head and kissed her longingly, his tongue flicking hers with wanton desire.
 

FOUR!
 

THREE!
 

‘Ok, ok, I'll do it.’ Lori pulled away from his kiss, her heart racing with a mixture of need for him and sheer terror of what she was about to do.
 

TWO!
 

Together they climbed over the rail and hung on to the bridge with one hand. The fingers of their other hands clasped tightly together.
 

ONE!
 

‘Happy New Yeeeear!’ Lori squealed with the crowd. She and Zeb launched themselves off the edge at the same time as the fireworks burst into the night sky behind them, lighting up the water as they dropped the forty something feet.
 

‘Fucking hell!’ Lori spluttered when she resurfaced, her dress bunched up under her arms. She'd lost her shoes at some point in the fall. 

Zeb came up right in front of her and laughed manically. ‘That was insane!’
 

‘I can't believe you made me do that,’ Lori screeched and lashed out at him with her arms and legs in a comical slow motion fight.
 

‘Shh!’ Zeb covered her mouth with his hand. ‘The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves down here.’
 

Lori stopped fighting and clung on to his waist treading water slowly as she gave her breathing time to calm down. Only inches from his face she stared into his eyes and spoke quietly, ‘You, are fucking crazy.’
 

His hands wrapped around her bare waist and drawing her body in to his he rasped in reply, ‘It's you that drives me fucking crazy.’
 

Lust finally taking control of her Lori pushed forward in the water and kissed him feverishly, her hands grabbing at his shirt.
 

Around her waist Zeb's hands slid up her rib cage and round the back to the clasp of her bra. Treading water confidently he flicked the hooks undone and returned his hands to the front lifting the lacy fabric up to release her breasts. His hands brushed down her chest and found her erect nipples, rolling them under his finger tips and making her whimper in expectation.