The Happy Endings Book Club (6 page)

She looked at him in disbelief. “But Josh is flying back to Tokyo tomorrow. Please don’t leave me at the mercy of Mum and Dad.”

“People have lives, Michi-moooo. They don’t stop just because you’re gracing us with your biannual visit.”

Michi glared at her brother. “Yep, thanks.”

Greg looked like he had a great idea. “Hey, you’re not working this week, Jake. You should take her out and show her what she’s missing.”

Michi waved her hand around. “No, definitely not. I’m sure Jake is busy.”

“No, I’m not. I was just going to get some surfing in.” Jake said. “I’ve got to make deposits into the
surf
bank.”

“See, he’s busy surfing,” Michi said to Greg.

“He can’t fucking surf all day long.” Greg turned to Jake. “Can you?”

“Nope. I’d like to take you out, Michi. Repay some of the kindness your family has shown me.”

Michi glanced at the Christmas banquet her mother was putting out. “My parents are kind to everyone.”

“Don’t be a bitch, Mich.” Greg slapped his leg. “That rhymes.”

Michi wasn’t sure if it was the afternoon sun or Jake’s stare, but she suddenly felt hot. “Okay, if you’re sure it’s no bother.”

“Are you usually a bother?” Jake said.

She felt cornered and didn’t like it. She certainly didn’t want Greg to see how flustered Jake was making her. Her brother was a shark. One whiff of blood and he’d attack. “That would be lovely, Jake. Thank you.”

Greg seemed relieved to palm his sister off. “Great, it’s a date.”

Michi looked embarrassed, and Greg burst out laughing. “Fine, you ole prude … it’s an appointment.”

*

Appointment or not, it felt like a date when Michi rifled through her suitcase the next morning to find something to wear. She always kept things simple. She had to on her salary. But she’d also packed with her parents and their creepy friends in mind, so understated and conservative was the holiday theme—something she was regretting now she was going out with Mr. Sex-on-a-stick. Not that
she
was thinking about having sex with him. She just assumed many women were. Jake had that look about him. Even her brother made no secret of wanting him.

She settled on navy shorts with a white shirt and tan sandals. She didn’t need much make-up. Even though she liked to complain about the Aussie sun, she’d enjoyed getting some for a change, and her skin was golden. She looked at herself in the mirror. She jokingly called herself ‘Wasian’ – half western, half Asian. She knew she was pretty. She was no china doll, though. She was five foot ten and curvy. Plus she had freckles.

She’d been raised in Australia, but she often appeared more Japanese than Australian—certainly more Japanese than her mother. Growing up, she didn’t have the laid-back attitude of most of her friends. She was contained, and conservative. Michi favored the Japanese way of not speaking unless there was something meaningful to say. When she was in Australia, she often yearned for Japan, but when she was there, she felt like an alien too. She was always on display there. And she felt like a giant.

She didn’t quite know where she fit in, so London was a convenient third option. And she loved it there. Not the weather, but her friends, and work.

She heard the doorbell and her mother’s heels clacking across the floor to answer it. She heard her squeal in delight when she saw it was Jake. As usual, her father wasn’t far behind, and she could hear him greet Jake like he was a hero returning from war.

Michi suddenly felt sick. What was she doing?

Her mother clearly adored Jake, while her father thought he was a top bloke. And Jake had been brainwashed into liking them.

All excellent reasons to steer clear of him. Besides, she was only here for another week. She didn’t need any complications.

It was too late to cancel now, so she would enjoy today and then never lay eyes on him again. Simple. She grabbed her bag and headed out into the hall near the front door.

Jake smiled when he saw her. “Hey, Michi, you look nice.”

“Thanks,” Michi said with fake nonchalance.

You look drop-dead gorgeous yourself
, thought Michi,
but guys like you usually know that
. His hair was tousled, as though he’d just rolled out of bed. In fact, he probably had, with some supermodel or something. He was wearing striped shorts and a navy T-shirt with a …

“Is that an eyeball on your shirt?”

Jake gave her a wink. “Wore it for you.”

Michi couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re lucky I collect corneas and not prostate tissue.”

“What are you two young’uns up to today?” Keith asked.

Michi cringed at her father’s use of young’uns. “That’s Jake’s call. He’s the local.”

“I thought we’d just see how the day pans out. We’ll use the force.”

“How very Jake Skywalker of you.” Michi pretended to be enthusiastic, but preferred it when things were scheduled.

Keith and Kayoko led them to the door. Michi suddenly felt fifteen again.

“Be a good girl,” Kayoko advised.

Michi fought the urge to slap her mother and headed for the door. Her mother’s idea of being a “good girl” was a little different to hers and usually included sex toys.

Michi ducked her mother’s attempt to hug her (Jake wasn’t so lucky) and escaped out the door. She noticed Jake’s battered old 4WD in the driveway. She was a little surprised. He looked more like a motorbike kind of guy, or at least like he’d drive something slightly pretentious, like a new Jeep.

“Does this thing drive?”

“It did on the way here.”

Jake opened the door and Michi climbed in. Then he went round to the driver’s side. Michi noticed a bunch of maps shoved between the seats. She flicked her finger over them: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland.

“Do you like driving long distances?”

“I like getting out of the city when I can. I go camping.”

“In a tent?”

“That’s usually what camping means.”

“Did you get the memo about snakes in Australia?” Michi asked.

Jake looked amused. “I did, and I try not to bother them.”

“Are you sure you’re English? You’re a little Crocodile Hunter.”

“Born and bred Brit, but I love this place.”

“Different strokes for different folks.” Michi looked out the window at the Mosman houses. “Where are we going? Skydiving? Shark hunting?”

“Luna Park.”

“Luna Park?”
WTF?
“What am I, six?”

“No, but you could do with a dose of childlike joie de vivre.”

Michi was shocked. “Are you saying I’m uptight?”

Jake gave her one of his already infuriating shrugs. “I barely know you. Are you?”

“I’m not uptight.”

“No problem if you are.”

“You’d be a little conservative too, if you grew up with my parents.”

“Sure, I get it,” Jake said. “That whole teenage rebellion thing. But how old are you now?”

“I’m twenty-eight and I’m not rebelling. This is who I am.” Why was she defending herself to this guy?

“I like who you are. I think you’re kinda cute.”

“Kind of cute?” Michi sniffed. “Now who’s acting like a child?”

Half an hour later, after an argument about who was paying (Michi paid for her own ticket—after all, this wasn’t a date) they had their wristbands on and Michi had first pick of the rides.

“Let’s start with the dodgems,” she said. Usually she’d head straight for the carousel, but somehow she didn’t think that would go down too well with action man, and she considered the dodgem cars to be quite wild.

“Sure, we’ll start tame and work our way up.”

Tame?
Before long they were hooning around in separate dodgem cars. Michi was doing her best to stay on her own side of the circuit and not hit anyone. Jake seemed to enjoy slamming into everything he could, including Michi’s car.

“Back off, Jake,” she screamed after the third strike.

Jake roared with laughter. “You’re driving like a nanna.”

“You’re driving like a madman.”

“It’s a dodgem car,
nanna
.”

Michi bit her tongue. Literally. Jake slammed into her, down went her teeth and she could taste blood. Damn him. But the worst was yet to come.

“My choice,” Jake announced once they were out of the dodgem pavilion.

Michi glanced toward Coney Island. She could handle that. Instead, Jake grabbed her hand and strode toward the Wild Mouse. Michi wanted to throw up. She hated amusement parks, she hated rides. She wasn’t a fan of frightening herself on purpose. Her friends at her book club even teased her about her aversion to dark paranormal romances. Quite simply, Michi didn’t like to be taken too far out of her comfort zone.

“Ever been on the Wild Mouse before?” Jake asked.

“Not that I can recall.”

“A wild mouse virgin!” Jake shoved her into a carriage.

Naturally Michi thought of Toblerone.

Jake slid into the carriage behind her. “I’ll be right here.”

“Do I need a safety harness or something?”

“You’ll be fine.”

Her hands clutched the safety bar as the carriage slowly made its way to the top of the roller-coaster.

Michi glanced over the side of the carriage. “This thing is as old as your car.”

“Hope it’s maintained better.”

The old carriage rattled high along the top of the roller-coaster scaffold.

“Check out that view.”

Michi looked out at Sydney Harbour in all its blue-watered sunny glory. It was absolutely magnificent. For just a moment, the carriage paused … and then they dropped.

“Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark.”

The carriage lurched and rattled its way around the tracks. Michi clutched the bar as her body heaved in one direction then another. She screamed the whole way while Jake sat behind her and laughed. She wasn’t sure if he was laughing out of fear or at her.

“Having fun, Michi?” Jake yelled.

He was laughing at her.

Finally the carriage rolled into the station and Michi stumbled out.

“Did you enjoy that?” Jake asked.

“It was great.”
Right up there with my last pap smear.

“Didn’t scare you?”

“Not overly.”

“Then you must always have that look on your face.”

Jake pointed at the screen near the exit showing the photos taken of each carriage. One photo showed Michi, eyes rolled back in her head, tonsils on show as she screamed.

Michi flinched when she saw it. “Not my best angle.”

“Shall I buy it for you?”

“No thanks.”

“Late Christmas gift?” It was clear Jake enjoyed teasing her.

“Pass.”

Jake thought it was hilarious. “You could give it to your dentist in lieu of dental X-rays.”

Michi glared at him but Jake just smiled. To her surprise, took her hand and led her out into the main thoroughfare. Once they were through the crowd, he turned to her.

“You could just say you don’t like scary rides.”

“I don’t like scary rides.”

“Why not?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t like caramel either. Are you going to interrogate me over that?”

Jake gave her a look of faux horror. “You don’t like caramel?”

“I can do the Ferris wheel if you want.” It was the best pick of a bad bunch.

Jake took her hand again and they walked toward the ride. Michi didn’t like all the hand-holding. What did he mean by it? She knew it was crowded, but surely he knew she was perfectly capable of following him through the crowds without getting lost. It was difficult enough to stay cool in the summer heat without his hand sending pulsating waves of heat up her arm.

Holding hands also meant she wasn’t able to put space between them. She could only keep him at arm’s length, no further. Occasionally she caught a whiff of his scent.
Male
was the one word that came immediately to mind. Her friend Eva always described her husband as male. She joked about how so many men didn’t smell male. They doused themselves in awful aftershave. Or their natural scent wasn’t that appealing. She said those men stunk of estrogen. Not literally, but they just weren’t
male
. Michi had never really understood what Eva meant until this moment.

Jake was male.

Jake was so male it made Michi a little dizzy. And she didn’t like it.

He let go of her hand once they were in line for the Ferris wheel, but that wasn’t any better. The line was crowded and she found herself pressed even closer to Jake. Every way she turned, another part of her body was pressed against him. She could barely breathe. So much so that she was relieved to board the carriage—something she’d never felt at an amusement park before.

Once they were floating up toward the sky, Jake spoke. “You cut up dead bodies for a living but you don’t like being scared. Why is that?”

“You sound like my roommate Clementine. But I find my work to be … ordered. There’s a certain way of dealing with the body and the tissue, and it’s the same every time. To me it’s just a process that I implement, and if it’s successful, it’s an opportunity for someone else to regain their sight. It’s anything but scary.”

“Do you always like things to be
ordered
?”

There was that stare again.

“It’s preferable.”

“When was the last time you did something that frightened you?”

“Quite frankly, I’m frightened now.” Michi turned away from him and looked down at the park below and then out at the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. “The harbor’s busy,” she said, trying to change the subject.

Jake looked at her in total disbelief. “Christ, you’re really a tourist. It’s the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race today. Everyone is out on the water.”

She glanced down at the line. “Or on a Ferris wheel.”

“You hungry?” he asked.

There was something about his question that unnerved her. In fact, everything about him unnerved her. Michi was self-aware enough to know it wasn’t just him. She was like this with anyone who flirted with her. Throw some sexual energy into the mix and suddenly she felt like prey.

Michi had the urge to run, but that would’ve meant instant death, off the side of the Ferris wheel. She needed to change the dynamic between them. “How about we make a deal?” she asked.