Spike (2 page)

“He’s changin’ truck routes, and it makes more sense for him to live out of Sydney. So, it looks like he’ll be moving out and I’ll be in the market for a new housemate.”

“Oh,” I say softly. I don’t know how I feel about sharing Aidan with anyone else. Connor
was
the perfect housemate.
Absent
. “Are you going to advertise, or just ask around?”

“Dunno. You know I was talkin’ to Rob the other day …” He trails off.

“Maybe
he
could move in with you,” I blurt out. At least I know Rob from school, and occasionally see him when he comes over to see my flatmate, Crystal. They’ve been dating for years now, and he and Aidan get along well. It sounds like the perfect solution to me.

“Nah, he’s got other plans. You know, he asked Crystal the other day to move in with him, but she was a bit nervous about it. He gets the impression it’s because she doesn’t wanna leave you in the lurch.”

Well, this is news. But I’d hate to stand in the way of Crystal being happy. I hope that worrying about me didn’t taint the excitement of being asked to move in with her boyfriend for the first time.

“She practically lives with him anyway. She should’ve just asked me. Maybe I could see if one of the girls from uni could take over her share of the lease.”

Although on second thoughts, I’m not sure if I’m keen on the idea. I don’t want a party animal in the room next to me. I definitely won’t ask Bridge from uni, but that’s mainly because she reminds me of a dark time in my life, when I spiralled into Alex’s bed. I still can’t believe I was about to lose my virginity to him when Blonde Barbie walked in. But things happen for a reason, and it was a blessing, as Aidan and I finally got our chance, and my first time was perfect.

Aidan frowns. What’s going on in that head of his? Is he worried I’ll have trouble finding a new housemate?

“So, I’m lookin’ for someone who can cook, who’s reasonably neat and tidy, and preferably easy on the eye. Let me know if you can think of anyone,” he says. A cheeky-arse smile tickles at his lips.

Oh my God. Is he asking me to move in with him, or is he just trying to rile me up?
Let’s see
.

“I could ask Cassie if her brother, Ryan, is interested. I’ve never met him, but if he’s anything like Cassie, I’m
sure
he’s good looking.” I press my lips together, trying not to grin my head off.

He shuffles and sits upright on the end of the couch
.
“Uh, that’s not quite what I meant.”

I kneel beside him, my body facing his. “Why don’t you say what you mean, then?” I say, raising my eyebrows expectantly.

“Move in with me,” he says, a touch of vulnerability in his voice. “I was gonna ask you a while back, I … So what do ya reckon?”

Aw, he was gonna ask me a while back? Was he afraid I’d say no? My smile breaks through but I remain silent, letting him squirm a little more. He reaches over to me, and cups my face in his hands.

“Baby girl, it drives me crazy when I can’t see you. Especially when we live such busy lives. I can’t imagine sharing with anyone else. I don’t want to.”

I straddle his lap and take his stubbly jaw in my hands. Aidan wraps his strong arms around me, and I take a long, deep breath in, trying to calm the crazy beating of my heart. There is only one answer I can give him.

“My home is wherever you are, Aidan. So yes. I would love to move in with you.”

Aidan plants a loud kiss on my lips, and blinds me with a winning smile. “So it’s settled. I’ll tell Rob the good news, huh?” he says, his voice chipper.
So
e
ager
.

“Just let me talk to Crystal first. We’ll have to talk to the landlord and sort out the lease. But, there’s just one condition.”

He smirks. “And what’s that?”

“When I say I have to study, I mean it. Not that I
might
need to study, and I’m open to negotiation. This is my chance to work hard at it, and move my career along. As persuasive as you are, you’ll have to put your charm on hold.”

His teeth-flashing smile splits his face, mischief dancing in his eyes. “I don’t make any promises I can’t keep, so I’ll do my best.”

I can’t help but mirror his grin. I can almost hear the cogs turning as Aidan no doubt calculates how he’s going to
persuade
me.

“Aidan, I’m serious.”

“Baby girl, so am I.”

****

The next morning, after a long run together, Aidan and I shower and retreat to the couch to read the newspaper. In typical boy fashion, he snaffles the sports section. I head straight for the gossip pages. Call me superficial for wanting to read that stuff, but after the heavy shit I’ve been reading for uni it’s my way of massaging my brain back to life.

Aidan makes a grunting sound as he flips over the page.

“Anything good in there?” I ask.

“Yeah, got my name in the paper.” He lowers the black and white pages, letting me appreciate his proud smile. God, I love seeing him like this. Sometimes it’s like he’s a little boy who thinks he’s dreaming, like his goal is so far out of reach when he is in fact, living it.

“Does it say that you’re a superstar hottie and taking the motocross world by storm?”

Aidan stands up. He folds the paper and drops it in my lap as he chuckles. “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

Opening the sports section, a photo of a rider getting some serious air catches my eye.
My man
. The article gives a bit of background on Aidan’s career to date, and how people are sitting up and taking notice of his talent, particularly some of the seasoned riders. It also says how he’d been picked up by Yamaha, one of the biggest sponsors in Australia, after competing for several years as a privateer.

As a privateer he’d had to work his arse off to support his career. Now he has a full team for support, and less of the financial worry. He can focus on riding, his passion. I couldn’t be prouder. I put down the paper, my heart now that much fuller.

“This is awesome. You should definitely frame this. Oh, and we should get a copy of the paper for your mum.”

Aidan nods. “Yeah, it’s kinda cool, huh? I’ll ring Mum and see if she already has it.”

So talented, and yet so humble about it. Just one item on the long list of things I love about Aidan Stone.

****

After a week of talking on and off to Crystal about moving out, we finally arrange to meet up for coffee. Even though we live together, we have to arrange a time to see each other. We just never seem to be home at the same time lately.

“Hey girl, I’ve missed you,” Crystal says, pulling me into a hug.

I squeeze her tight. “Me too. Come on, I’m
dying
for coffee.”

“You say that like it’s something new,” she says and giggles.

I roll my eyes at her, as we walk to a table in the corner of the café. We peel off our coats and scarves. Crystal sweeps her long, blonde hair from her face and winks at me.

A young red-haired girl comes to take our order, fumbling with her pen and paper.

“What can I get you?” she asks shyly.

“Two
large
flat whites, thanks,” Crystal orders for both of us.

The waitress nods and moves onto the next table.

“You look tired. What’d you do last night?” Crystal asks.
What didn’t Aidan and I do last night?

Of course, my cheeks run hot, thinking exactly what we did do.
That thing he does with his tongue
…

“So, last night?” she says.

“Oh, I’m good, tired, but good. Aidan and I have just been, um, making up for lost time.”

She gives me a cheeky smile. “Yeah, I bet you have. I’m just so glad you guys are together. You’re perfect for each other.”

“Aw, thanks. I still can’t believe he asked me to move in with him.” It feels like a dream.
I wonder if things will change, living together …

“Why wouldn’t he? He can’t get enough of you. No point fighting it.”

“I don’t intend to. It’s just sometimes I have to pinch myself knowing I have him. He’s everything I ever wanted.”

Crystal gives me a genuine smile, and takes my hand across the table. “You know, when I first met Aidan all I could see was the eye-candy, but he’s so much more than that. He has the heart to match, and he’s fucking crazy about you. He’s forever material, Eevie.”

She’s right, and don’t I know it. “Yeah. He is.”

She takes her hand from mine as the waitress shakily places our coffees between us. Poor girl; it’s probably her first day. I give her a smile and thank her.

I pour in some sugar and start stirring. “So, have you found somewhere to move into yet?”

Crystal’s face breaks out with a beaming grin. “Yeah, we’ve found a cute townhouse over in Weston Creek, and we’re looking to move in next month. I can’t believe we’ve been dating for nearly three years now. It’s such a big step moving in together, but we’re joined at the hip anyway. You never know, maybe it won’t be long before he asks me to marry him.”
Marriage?

“Wow, things must be serious. Rob’s a great guy. I’m glad things are moving along for you.”

Crystal’s smile fades as she goes about stirring her coffee. “Listen, Eevie, I just wanna say I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about Rob asking me to move out. I just didn’t think you needed something else to deal with, you know?”

I know she’s still carrying the guilt over the night my drink was spiked and I was almost raped. Really, she needs to move on.

“I keep telling you, Crystal. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine now. And besides, I have a kick-arse boyfriend to look out for me.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear,” she says, nodding. “And even though we won’t be living together anymore, it doesn’t mean we can’t still catch up. I miss you. Maybe we should make an effort to meet up at least once a month, for lunch or dinner or something.”

I’m relieved she didn’t mentioned drinks. I haven’t had any alcohol in public since that night. The only person I’ve been able to trust myself to indulge in a few drinks with is Aidan.

I take a few long sips of my coffee. “Sounds great. Aidan’s training and travelling pretty much every second weekend now, so it’d be nice to have some company when he’s away.”

“Cool. Oh, I nearly forgot, do you remember Emma from my work?”

I shrug. I would have only met Emma that night out, and I’d been working hard to forget everything about what was the darkest hour of my life.

“Well, Emma and her sister are keen to move into the unit when it’s vacant. She’s already filled out the application forms with the landlord, and they’ve been approved. They can move in whenever you’re ready.”

“Wow, that’s great. I can’t believe it’s been this easy to sort out. It’s all just falling into place, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?”

“I guess now I’ll work out with Aidan a good weekend to move the big stuff, but I might start taking a few smaller things across.”

I’m moving in with a guy. Eek! I could die with excitement, because every time I think about living with Aidan I get a weird flutter in my stomach and wanna high-five the crap out of the nearest person.

“At least I don’t have that much to move. There is one thing I’m not looking forward to, though,” I say, spying the girl at the next table reading a chunky book.

“What’s that?”

“The shit Aidan’s gonna give me about the copious number of boxes of my romance novels.”

“He totally will,” she says and laughs.

“Mark my words, he’ll call me a desperate romantic and shake his head.”

I wonder if he’ll sneak a peek at them. If anything, I should write one about him. He’d put half the heroes I’ve read about to shame.

“Oh, before I forget. I brought your mail,” she says, stalling my thoughts from wandering into naughty territory. “Hopefully it’s something more exciting than bills. Nothing good ever comes in the post.”

Crystal hands me a few envelopes, and I flick through them. I recognise the handwriting on one of them.
Tara.
Fuck me. Have I got a stalker on my hands? God knows what this letter will say.
Psycho
.

I stuff the mail into my handbag, and try to hide my annoyance. Without even reading the letter, she’s tainted what was otherwise a nice day.

“Thanks, Crystal. You up for another coffee?” I say, trying to divert my attention from Stalker Girl.

She sips back the last few mouthfuls of her drink, and clangs her empty cup on the saucer. “Does the Pope wear tighty-whiteys?”

“What the hell?” I frown, wondering why she’s asking me what the Pope wears under all that.

“I was tryin’ to be funny, Eevie. In other words, yes.”

I laugh out loud as I wave the waitress over to order another round.

“You’re a worry, Crystal. A real worry.”

****

When I get to my car a short time later, I open the letter.

Eevie

Please call me. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.

- Tara

I know exactly what I’m getting into,
Tara
. I’ve found the piece of me that’s been missing, and I’m happy. Shout-out-to-the-stars-above kind of happy. No ex is going to ruin that for me.

She’s got to be an ex for a reason. If she keeps this up, I’m going to have to tell Aidan about these letters, but right now he doesn’t need the distraction. He’s got the next round of Motocross Nationals to focus on, and I’ve never seen him more excited. This bullshit is the last thing he needs.

****

After a convincing win the following weekend, Aidan is now a close second on the leader board. At this point in the season it’s hectic, to say the least. It’s an exciting time for Aidan, although the phone has momentarily taken over our lives, buzzing with calls from local media, race organisers and sponsors. Every now and then, when Aidan has had enough talking, I play secretary and screen his calls. Just yesterday, he convinced me to do it dressed as ‘Office Eevie’: tight shirt, short skirt, heels, glasses, and my hair in the librarian-style bun he’d been begging for. It was fun
—
no, that’s not an accurate description, it was hot as all hell
—
but it was counterproductive as I was
not
in a position to answer the phone.
Insatiable.