AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Selfless…” Rio started slowly, then shook his head. “Not even gonna fucking bother. I just hope that’s not what you plan to come out with.”
“Just stop telling me how to do my job and be ready with yours.”
Rio twirled the keys on his finger. “Joy ride, baby.”
The only way we had a chance to pull this off was for Rio to nick the groundsman’s Gator and hope that kept both him and Dunbridge busy for long enough for me to do my thing. Steve and Jake had tried fighting Rio for the pleasure of taking the Gator for a joyride around the school, but Rio was my righthand man, my wingman, my best mate. He wasn’t giving up the pleasure for anyone. Besides, it was about the last thing he had left on his school bucket list.
When I got the all-clear from Jake, I climbed into my car. So, with nerves threatening to eat me alive, I drove my ute onto the school oval halfway through the lesson. No one tried to stop me, and I wasn’t sure if I was pleased about that or not.
I was fucking terrified she’d say no.
If she did, I knew I deserved it.
I’d said no to her plenty in the last few weeks. Fuck. Months.
I was still going to try, and I was still going to hope she forgave me.
My hands were shaking as I pulled myself into the tray and hit play on the boom box. I winced as it blasted music at me – Fall Out Boy’s ‘Honorable Mention’ for the single fact it contained the exact right lyrics – but it was going to have to be loud for her to hear it. I picked it up and held it over my head. I’d forgone the trench coat, not wanting to feel too much like a 1920’s noir detective.
Two seconds in and I was regretting my life choices. I was not buff enough for this shit. The boom box was fucking heavy. But Piper was worth losing all feeling in my entire body, so I’d stand there for as long as it took. Or until I fell over.
It seemed to take forever. Or that might have been my lack of muscles talking.
Finally, I saw her running out of the building. Running.
“Well, hopefully that’s a good start,” I muttered to myself.
Then she slowed and I figured the grand romantic gesture bit was done. I hopped off the tray and let the boom box hang by my knees. She stopped in front of me, and the air fair buzzed around us. It was awkward. The atmosphere that surrounded us had been a lot of things over the last few months, but never awkward. Not like this.
“I didn’t–” we started at the same time, then stopped with rueful smiles.
“Sorry…” I said, but didn’t know how to continue.
She shook her head. “No… I just didn’t peg you for the big gestures type.”
That wasn’t saying she hadn’t appreciated it, but it also wasn’t saying it had worked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Well, I’d like to not have to do it again. It’s kind of unnerving not knowing if it’s going to be a good ending or a bad ending.”
“And, how do you think it will end?”
I shrugged. “That all depends on how badly I fucked up, doesn’t it?”
“That sounds an awful lot like an apology, Lombardi,” she said quickly, like she hadn’t meant to let herself fall back into our usual banter quite so easily.
I nodded again and couldn’t meet her eyes. “Yeah, well. I always said, Barlow, some things you have to apologise for.”
“Not to me.”
“Especially to you.”
The silence was fucking awful. Neither of us seemed able to really look at the other, but we still caught each other sneaking looks. I couldn’t fucking take it. Something had to be done, and if it was an apology then that’s what I’d give her.
“Piper, I am sorry.”
“It’s not like I didn’t mess up, too,” she said, and I heard the hesitant warmth in her voice.
“Is that an apology?” I chuckled.
