Friendship on Fire (19 page)

I did another once over of my hair with the straightener but there were a few annoying kinks that I didn't have patience to deal with right now. I still had to check my room, make sure the boys' rooms were presentable, and organise the food to be ready in time.

I checked the clock. My heart leapt for the thousandth time. Ten minutes.

It was such a different visit from the first time Nate came to our house. I almost didn't know how to behave. Last time, he was Treston's guest and I had a fight with him. This time, he's my guest, and I couldn't have been prouder to have him at our family dinner. Or more nervous.

I kept cleaning anxiously. Each time I caught a glimpse of myself in any reflection, I would stop and check that my skirt was sitting properly, that my necklace was around the right way, that I'd shaved my legs perfectly and no hair was sticking out of a random part of my shins.

The doorbell rang. I jumped.

‘I've got it,' I called, bounding to the front door. Josh laughed at my eagerness. I put my hair behind my ear before answering with a big smile.

‘Hello dear,' Nanna exclaimed, reaching forward to kiss my cheek. Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to see her, but I had to stop myself from saying, ‘Oh, it's just you.'

‘So glad to see you, Nanna.' I put my arm around her frail back and gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘How was your week?'

‘Good. I don't want to talk about me. Where's this boy I hear who's taken your fancy?' She glanced around the doorway for a sign of Nate.

‘You'd be looking for me, then,' a voice said from behind us. I spun around to see the face that matched the voice. Plain colours complemented his skin and hair and he looked so classy in anything he wore. Tonight was no exception. He wore light denim jeans, a little on the baggy side, with a fitted round-neck Industrie knit top in black. The smell coming from his skin made me light-headed.

‘Ahh. Hello, young man. What's your name, again? I've forgotten already,' Nanna said, murmuring something about old age.

‘Nate. Pleased to meet you. I assume you're Daisy's nanna?' he smiled at her. I wondered if his smile would work on her the way it worked on me.

‘Yes, I am. I can see what she sees in you. You are a sight for sore eyes.' Turning around, she winked at me before walking into the house and leaving Nate to chuckle with me.

‘You've made quite an impression on her; she rarely leaves a conversation half finished,' I giggled. He leant forward and gave me a long kiss that showed me how happy he was to see me.

‘All I care about is the impression I make on you,' he said, ever smoothly.

I rolled my eyes, while my stomach continued to manufacture an entire legion of butterflies. ‘It's a good start, but you can do better,' I whispered, elbowing him in the ribs and leading him into the kitchen area.

‘Hey,' Josh said, and kept walking into his room. He hadn't cleaned it.

‘Hey, Josh. Good to see you,' Nate replied to Josh's back.

Were boys as sensitive about manners and social etiquette as girls? If they were, Nate must think Josh was pretty rude.

Mum came to the rescue. ‘Nate. We're so glad you could make it tonight. I hope you like pasta.' She pointed to the dish on the kitchen bench and smiled at him. Nate's shoulders relaxed and I secretly thanked God for all mothers who were situationally aware.

‘I sure do, Mrs Brooks. I'm part Italian so I love all of that stuff.'

‘Please, call me Jade,' Mum ordered. ‘Here, put this cutlery out, would you?' Mum handed it to me. ‘And tell your father dinner is ready.'

I gave Nate the cutlery and went to find Dad in his study.

‘Dad, Nate's here. Can you please be nice?' I begged.

Dad grinned. ‘I'm always nice.'

Oh no. What would he say to embarrass me tonight? Baby photos? Poo jokes? The list was endless.

Mum called us to sit down at the table and we had grace. For a second I thought Dad might ask Nate to say grace, just to establish who was in charge of the table. He eyed him off for a second before he asked Treston to say it. Treston groaned but said it anyway.

Dad looked at me as he asked Nate his first question of the night.

‘So, Nate, what are your intentions with my daughter?' The boys glanced at each other knowingly and I felt my face grow warm.

Nate seemed to predict this question and deflected it quite nicely. ‘She's a lovely girl. You should be very proud of her, Mr Brooks. I want to make her happy,' he replied, meeting Dad's gaze squarely.

I was impressed, so far.

‘Uhhuh. There's no need to call me Mr Brooks, Nate,' Dad said cunningly, and paused for effect. Then he smiled wolfishly, and said, ‘You can call me sir.'

Nate smiled a little. ‘That's fine,' he said.

Dad chewed off a bit of garlic bread.

‘Have you had any speeding fines?'

Mum sighed. I watched nervously. The boys continued to eat like there was no awkward conversation taking place around them.

‘Only one. There wasn't good enough signage, so, I got caught,' Nate said simply.

‘Dad …' I started, but he cut me off.

‘Sure there wasn't. How fast have you driven in a car with my daughter?' He inclined his head, as if to warn me not to interfere.

I put my hand on Nate's knee under the table to reassure him. He didn't need it. ‘I haven't driven her yet, sir,' he replied, coolly.

‘Good answer,' Dad said, still chewing. ‘Make sure you ask my permission when you do want to take her somewhere. I want to check if your car is roadworthy first.'

Nate and I looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes. ‘Of course. Any other questions, Mr Brooks?' Nate inquired, taking a drink of soda.

Dad opened his mouth to speak.

‘Yes,' Josh interrupted. ‘You're part Italian right. And you play soccer. Do you also know how to dive in a game?' he asked in all seriousness, while Shane and Treston smirked, mouths full.

I knew full well Josh was insinuating all Italians could fake fouls in soccer, because of the 2006 World Cup match against Australia. They still weren't over it, a few years later.

‘Sure I do. Anyone does,' he said calmly. ‘Doesn't mean I need to.'

‘Good point,' said Josh. ‘It's nice to see an Italian who has firm decision-making. Not like the Italians in the world wars.' It was probably all he knew about history.

Josh kept eating his dinner. I was so angry with him. He could be a real dick when he wanted to be. Whether he was being over-protective or not wasn't the point. He was rude and making Nate feel uncomfortable, because he could.

‘Yeah, I heard about that. Guess no one really knew what they were doing in those days, huh,' said Nate.

At this point Nanna cut in.

‘What do you want to do with your life, once you leave school, Nate?' she smiled at him sweetly.

‘At this stage I'm going to take over the family business,' Nate said, like he'd said it a thousand times before but didn't believe it himself.

‘Sounds like honourable work,' Nanna said, looking meaningfully at Josh.

Mum offered everyone another round of servings. Dad appeared ready to try his luck with Nate again.

‘Nate, has Daisy told you anything about her as a girl yet?' he asked, mischief oozing out of him.

‘No sir, but it's only been a little while. I'm sure there are plenty of stories I need to hear about,' he said and flicked his eyes at me.

With my eyes, I pleaded with Dad not to do this. He smiled at me; a wide, bold grin.

‘Once, when she was about two years old, she pulled some of Shane's shorts out of the washing basket in the nude and put them on herself. She ran outside with them falling down her backside. We've got so many pictures of her trying to hold up these bright blue shorts way too big for her,' Dad said, laughing to himself.

I was so embarrassed I tried to distract myself. I took a swig of red creaming soda to calm my nerves. Within seconds I realised what I had done wrong. The massive mouthful of soda burnt my windpipe. I thought if I held my breath I wouldn't choke. It made it worse.

Before I knew it, I was choking and gasping as it ran down my chin and neck and on to my good white top. I watched with horror as I realised this had no chance of coming out in the wash.

Suddenly I remembered my new bra. Standing up so quickly that I rocked the table, I peered down to see the soda had started to collect the new bra in its path and was continuing steadily down my stomach.

Nanna was already giving advice about how to soak the red stain out of the shirt. Nate hid a smile while he chewed his food. It was only me, apparently, who was remotely upset with this new development to our family dinner.

In my room, I slammed the door. Taking off the wretched shirt, I started to wipe down the front of my chest with my towel to rescue the bra. It was useless, and I felt like crying.

My door opened. Looking up, I saw Nate standing at the threshold, unsure about his unannounced entrance.

I sighed with resignation. ‘Hi. It's not exactly the best introduction to this scenario,' I said, shyly looking up at the ceiling.

‘Nice bra. Is it new? Girly, but cute. Are you turning thirteen though, or eighteen?' he teased, cocking his head to one side.

My head tingled with embarrassment and my eyes stung at his tactless comment. I was already humiliated in front of my brothers and parents. I didn't need him making it ten times worse.

‘Just go back out if you're going to be rude,' I said softly, reaching for the offending wet t-shirt to cover up my chest.

‘Hey — I didn't mean …' he started, but I interrupted him.

‘So why do you say what you say then?' I whispered, still hot with shame.

‘Daisy, when are you going to learn to trust me? You know my sense of humour is a bit out there. I never mean to upset you. Why can't you laugh at me?' His eyes searched mine.

I avoided his eyes. ‘That's the thing. You should also be getting to know me and what I'm comfortable with. I'm trying to learn about you and your boundaries, so would it kill you to be sensitive and not have to state the obvious?'

He averted his eyes for a while and shifted nervously on his feet. Had I ruined the night with my sensitivity?

‘Look. I'll get another shirt and come back out. Wait for me there. I won't be long,' I said, holding the shirt in place and waiting for him to leave.

He tilted his head so that he could catch an eye-full of my stomach and arms. Alarmed, yet intrigued, I watched him inspect me without knowing what to say.

‘I didn't say I didn't like what I saw,' he said slowly.

I blushed crimson and held the shirt to my chest tighter. A tingle went up my spine as his words echoed in my head. I couldn't hide all of my upper body and he was looking at what I had left to show.

He saw my weakness and took a few steps closer. Pulling the shirt gently out of my hands and throwing it away, he wrapped his arms around my back and gave me a warm, strong hug. I breathed in the scent from his neck and put my arms gently around his waist. Nate kissed my neck, his stubble tickling the soft skin at the base, giving me goose bumps. Then he stood back, holding one of my hands.

‘Nate …' I started, feeling like the only one who was exposed.

‘I'd like to see the matching part one day,' he winked. A cheeky gaze at my skirt followed.

I was conscious of everyone at the table still eating, possibly waiting for us to return. Would someone come looking for us? I gave him a kiss and turned him around. He opened the door and quietly left. I rummaged in my drawers three times over before I found a suitable shirt and bra replacement. My hands were shaking and my head was cloudy. I stood in front of the mirror, making sure everything was in place before I went back outside to face everyone.

As I sat back down at the table, dessert was being served and everyone was talking like nothing had happened. Treston invited Nate to play the Wii after dinner so I helped Mum clean up and put the leftovers away.

‘I think it's going well, don't you?' she asked as she handed me dishes to pile up on the sink.

‘Yeah it was, until I spilt the drink down my front,' I pouted.

‘Don't worry about it. You were comic relief for the night,' she grinned.

‘Thanks. Exactly what I set out to be,' I sooked.

She laughed. I knew I was being a baby, but with Mum I could say what I wanted without her telling me off. It was nice to be able to exaggerate feelings and still be loved.

Cheers went up from the boys. I smiled to myself as I turned the tap on. It was good having a ‘boyfriend' who got along well with my brothers. As long as they didn't try to steal him from me completely, I was very grateful to them for including Nate in their games.

An hour later, the boys were still playing Wii and I was getting tired. I didn't want to interrupt their games but I had run out of things to occupy myself with while waiting for them to finish. Wasn't this supposed to be my dinner with Nate? Not a boys' night? I got tired of waiting for them.

I marched into the lounge room and said, ‘Well I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight, guys.'

I looked searchingly at Nate, who stared back almost helplessly, and turned to go. I really hoped he would follow, but was also prepared for the scenario if he didn't. Heading to the bathroom, I got ready for bed. Teeth brushed, pyjamas on. I was about to turn my lamp off when I heard a small knock at my door.

‘Come in,' I said, pulling the doona cover up to my shoulders and sitting up in bed.

Nate came in with a look on his face I couldn't place. Was it sheepish? Was it uncomfortable? Was it annoyed? I raised my eyebrows at him and waited for him to speak first. He sat on the edge of the bed.

‘I didn't think you'd go to bed so early.'