Popping the Cherry (23 page)

‘Enough!’

I ripped the case off the back of my phone and yanked the battery out. My phone went dead mid-text-alert. I carried on through to the kitchen and dumped the three pieces of phone onto the counter, freeing my hands up to grip the rounded edge. Something bad was happening out there but the real world would have to wait: I had a driving test to get through first.

After quickly making up a cheese sandwich and a mug of hot sweet tea, I carried my haul through to the sitting room and plonked myself in front of the telly. I flicked through the movie channels, looking for something light, ideally where the nice girl kicked the arse of an evil cow, then lived happily ever after.

Or a comedy.

Right on cue, Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller filled the screen, looking spectacularly ridiculous.

Zoolander
it is, then
.

Except that I couldn’t sit still.

I couldn’t focus on the movie for more than a few minutes at a time. Too much nervous energy ran through me, making me fidgety and anxious. If I didn’t do something about it, my concentration levels would be shot to pieces and I’d never get through the test. The remote control was still in my hand, so I hit the standby button and stood, tossing the remote onto the spot I’d just vacated.

To hell with not showing my face in public! I needed to swim. I’d just have to take my chances I didn’t run into anyone from college.

My act of rebellion went only so far, given that I wasn’t completely thick-skinned or crazy—notyet, anyway—and there was no way I’d risk the bus, so I used the house phone to call for a taxi. The cab pulled up out front less than ten minutes later and I happily sprinted out of the house with my swim gear tucked under my arm. Good job I was planning on getting wet anyway, otherwise the drowned-rat look would have been something else to wind me up.

Small talk with the driver grew more stilted as the rain battered the cab; soon the only sound was the constant swish of the windscreen wipers, battling against the persistent downpour. Nerves bubbled inside my gut when I thought I saw Zac’s Land Rover turn into the side road a couple of cars ahead of us. My taxi dropped me off outside the main doors but the weather was too foul to linger and find out for sure. When I tried to put both legs through the same hole, I gave up and let my costume fall to the non-slip tiles.

Get a grip, Lena
.

I placed my hands on the cool wall of the cubicle and leaned my forehead against it. Sounds faded into the background as I focused on the erratic beat of my heart. Gradually it returned to normal, no longer trying to leap from my chest and dive into the deep end all by itself. Only when the whooshing sound of blood rushing through my ears became too quiet to hear, did I ease myself upright and open my eyes again. Finally making it onto the poolside, I paused and scanned the faces of the lifeguards and the dozen or so people swimming. The majority of swimmers were female, mostly older ladies, and I didn’t know either of the lifeguards by name, but I had a feeling one of them had been the one to pull the screen around me.

False alarm
.

With nothing else to distract me, I made my way to the deep end, curled my toes over the edge of the pool, then dived into the clear blue water. Nobody could hear my squeal deep underwater. Talk about goosebumps on goosebumps. I kicked hard and punched through the surface of the water, pushing myself at a punishing pace. Halfway through the seventeenth length, I turned my head to suck in my next breath and noticed somebody swimming alongside me, matching me stroke for stroke.

A male somebody
.

It was just too freaky to be pure coincidence. My breath caught in my throat and I pulled out of my next stroke. Out of my depth, in more ways than one, I trod water and watched as the swimmer realised I was no longer there. He came to a stop and turned, looking for me, and then his tanned face broke into a smile when he found me.

‘I was wondering how long it would take you to notice,’ he said, grinning as he swam back towards me.

‘Zac!’ A mixture of shock and relief made my legs falter in their cycling motion, and I stopped waving at the floor of the pool. ‘How long were you—’ My mouth dipped below the waterline, turning my words into a gargle as chlorine attacked my taste buds.

‘You’re not drowning on me again, are you, Lena?’ Zac’s hands found my upper arms and hoisted me up.

He remembers my name
.

I shook my head, too busy coughing up a lungful of water to be able to speak. My co-ordination returned almost immediately. Not wanting to risk a repeat, I twisted out of Zac’s hands and set off for the rail that ran the perimeter of the pool. With one hand gripping the rail, I dipped my head, face down, into the water and wiped my hand over, trying to wipe the silly grin off my face.

Yeah, OK, I’d remembered his name too, but he had saved my life, and that made him kind of difficult to forget. The nasty little voice inside me told me it was probably the only reason he remembered mine too.

‘That was some pace you were working at,’ he said. ‘You were in the zone. Which team do you swim for?’

‘No team.’ I hadn’t totally humiliated myself, then. ‘I was just blowing off steam.’

‘Really?’ Zac’s eyebrows arched up at the same time as the corners of his lips turned down in an upside-down smile, then he nodded, twice, but not up and down, it was more diagonal. I’d have probably looked like a guppy fish if I’d tried it, but Zac pulled it off. ‘You should try out. I reckon you’d do well.’

‘Thanks, but it’s not really my thing.’

At a loss for what to say next, I stared at the water rebounding off the wall of the pool, the level rising and falling with the wash created by those still swimming. I darted a glance at Zac and saw him doing the same.

‘Actually, I’m glad I bumped into you again,’ he said, just as the impasse reached
awkward
state. ‘I was beginning to think you’d stopped coming swimming.’

‘N-no, I’ve been every week. Sometimes with my friend.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Zac turn to look at me.

‘It didn’t feel right to ask last time, after … well, you know … but I was wondering if you’d like to come out with me sometime.’

‘Oh …’ My pulse tripped and I forgot to breathe in again.

Zac misunderstood my hesitation. ‘But I’m guessing you already have a boyfriend?’

Instantly, the image of Jake popped in my head. Just as fast, I shook it away. Jake was a lost cause.

‘No boyfriend,’ I blurted.

Real smooth, Lena
.

Zac’s eyes widened. ‘So is that a yes?’

Is it?

I’d spent weeks convincing myself Jake and I couldn’t be together, and I’d spent—admittedly fewer—weeks hoping to bump into Zac again. Why, then, now that he’d asked, was it so hard to say yes to a date with the super-hot lifeguard?

My mouth and voice weren’t playing fair, so I got around the problem by nodding.

‘Great.’ A lazy grin spread over Zac’s face. ‘I … er … don’t suppose you’re free tomorrow?’

Damn
.

‘No, I’m not,’ I said, shocked out my silence. Water dripped into my eyes where my brows had dipped into a deep frown. ‘I’m supposed to be meeting up with friends at the beach.’

‘Oh, right.’ Zac’s smile faded and I desperately wanted to put it back.

An idea came to me and I could have kicked myself for not thinking of it before I’d opened my mouth.

‘Actually, why don’t you come too?’

‘To the beach?’ he said, perking up already.

‘Yeah. It’s the end-of-college beach party, so there’ll be loads of people there. I can introduce you to my friends.’ The more I thought about it, the better it sounded: if it ended up a disaster, or he turned out to be really weird, I’d have backup in numbers.

‘OK, sure, the beach sounds good.’ He hit me with a smile that screamed of mischief, giving me fair warning. ‘I was going to suggest somewhere away from water, but I’ll just have to bring a lifejacket and pack a first-aid kit instead.’

‘Hey, that’s not fair.’ I slapped my hand on the water, showering him with the splash I’d created, and allowed myself a smug grin.

‘I guess I asked for that,’ he said, wiping his hand over his face. ‘So I leave my lifeguard gear at home and what, pick you up at your house?’

‘Er … yeah, OK.’ Butterflies practised dive manoeuvres in my gut. This was really happening. ‘Would nine o’clock be too early?’

‘No, that’s fine. Getting there before the crowds is always good.’

‘And you actually remember where I live?’

‘Would it make me sound like a total loser if I told you I came close to putting a note through your front door when I didn’t see you back here?’

‘Maybe.’ Ha! Zac wasn’t the only one who could tease. He feigned horror and made me laugh.

‘In that case, you’d better remind me.’

‘No, I think you’ll find it, but …’

‘But?’

‘Well, why didn’t you just text me when you had my number?’

‘I would have, but it didn’t feel … I don’t know …
ethical
to use the number you’d put on the form. And I didn’t want to just presume you’d want to see me again,’ he said, showing me a crack in his confidence. ‘I’m not doing much to erase my “loser” status here, am I?’

‘Actually, Zac, you’ve gone up even more in my estimation.’

‘Excellent.’ His smile reached all the way to his eyes. ‘And on that note my shift is about to start, so I’d better get my arse out of the pool. I’ll see you at nine, yeah?’

‘Yeah.’ I watched him haul his rather
fine
arse out of the pool.

‘Cool,’ he said, but then his brow creased in thought. ‘If there’s a problem, I’m here until ten tonight. Just leave a message if I can’t come to the phone.’

‘OK, good idea,’ I said. ‘We can do the number-swap thing tomorrow.’

‘Great. Now don’t start drowning while my back’s turned, not now I finally have a date with you.’

Yes!

Zac was just what I needed to lift my mood out of the pits of despair. I did another half-hour of lengths, then climbed out. He waved to me as I left and I practically skipped out of the building. Even the rain had called a temporary ceasefire, so I waited outside for my taxi to return and take me home again, leaving me with half an hour to get ready.

Right on time, my regular driving instructor showed up in his white, dual-control Mini festooned with L-plates. He climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked around the front to the passenger side so I could jump in behind the wheel, then off we went to do a practice test before heading to the test centre the other side of town for the real thing. After reading every single registration plate in sight of the gate, it was time.

A different examiner came through to the waiting room for me, which was definitely a good start: I might have been too tempted to crash the car into a massive tree if I’d had the same guy as last time, just to spite the old git. By the end of the test, I’d done everything asked of me. Before the examiner even opened his mouth, I knew I’d nailed it.

‘Congratulations, Miss Bell, I’m pleased to say you’ve passed.’ The examiner handed me the test certificate, all signed. ‘That was an exemplary display of driving, well done.’

‘Thank you.’

And thank you, Jake
.

There was a brief exchange of words between the examiner and my instructor, and then my instructor replaced the examiner in the passenger seat, smiling proudly. I’d done it. I drove straight home and didn’t even bother going inside. My car key lived on my key ring these days, so I walked over to my car and ripped off the magnetic L-plates, tossing them into the footwell with a flourish. Seeing that I couldn’t text Jake to tell him the good news—my phone still being in bits in the kitchen—I elected to drive over and see if he was home so I could tell him in person. His van was parked on the driveway as I’d hoped, and Gemma’s car was nowhere to be seen.

Even better.

I walked up the front door, remembering I was supposed to be avoiding him only when I took my finger
off
the doorbell.

Bugger
.

Nobody answered, so I figured my luck was holding out. I took the two steps backwards and turned away, ready to leg it to my car and get the hell out of there, when I heard the front door open.

‘Tink?’

Trapped in the no-man’s-land between my car and his house, I wavered, unsure whether to turn back or keep on walking. I’d been a fool to come here. Just hearing Jake’s voice had healed the cracks in my heart; that one word had already undone all of my good intentions. I wanted to see him—needed to see him—but then what? Go through the pain of leaving him again? Not that it was possible to leave a guy, when he didn’t even know you’d been together.

Get it over with
.

I pasted a bright smile on my face and half twisted, looking at him from over my shoulder, but kept my feet pointed towards my car, ready to run for it. My first mistake: I should never have looked at him. Adonis himself stood in the doorway wearing nothing more than a pair of lightweight drawstring trousers. Drops of water collected on his smooth chest before running down to his belly button, the muscles rippling where he was running a towel over his wet hair.

Whoa!

The unspoken battle between Jake and Zac reigned on, Jake maintaining the edge over Zac again in my second semi-naked-hot-guy moment of the day. Tough. Zac was available, whereas Jake was just my friend, although, judging from the look on his face, he wasn’t even that any more. I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. He didn’t usually block me out. Why put the shutters up now?

I swallowed.

‘Hey, Jake,’ I said, my throat tightening even more. ‘I just popped by to let you know I passed my test.’ I pointed at my car and waved my keys like a right idiot. ‘And to say thanks, of course, but I can see I’ve disturbed you, so I’ll get out of your way.’

Jake’s eyes narrowed to slits and set alarm bells ringing. ‘Actually, I was hoping to catch a word with you.’ He didn’t sound very happy about it, either. ‘Won’t you come in for a minute?’