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“Hadthat happened, it still would not have been as embarrassing as the time you and Hadley did that God awful dance routine in Year Five.” As he said it, I totally remembered it and a loud bark of laughter escaped me. That didn’t deter him though. “I swear, I still have nightmares about it. The colours, the total cheesiness, not to mention the hair. What nancy arse band did you decide you were going to dance with?”
“Big Time Rush,” I sniggered; we’d had costumes and everything and it had been…plainly awful. “We were going to go to the US and be their backup dancers, be on the show and be super famous.”
“Shame about the fact you couldn’t singordance.”
I snorted again and buried my face in my knees. When I finally resurfaced, I saw him looking at me with humour playing at his lips.
“The point was we were having fun. Besides, you can accomplish anything with your best friend beside you.”
“Ah, yes. The infamously inseparable duo of Piper and Hadley. Padley if you will. Or, perhaps Hadler?”
A completely undignified laugh escaped me and I leant on his arm as I laughed. “Not funny.”
“Your guffawing would suggest otherwise.”
I sat up and looked at him with my best stern face. But, the humour on his set me off again and he gave me a crooked smirk.
“So if Hadley wasn’t in Melbourne, what would you two be up to tonight?” he asked as he looked back over the lake.
My smile fell and I dropped back onto the blanket. “She’d be at the party and I’d still be here.”
He rearranged and lay down next to me. “You still wouldn’t have gone?”
I shrugged and felt my shoulder bump his. “I doubt it. Put in one appearance, it’s all good.”
“And she would have just let you sit here alone, being lonely?”
I wriggled and found myself being honest again. “She wouldn’t have had any reason not to go.”
There was a very pregnant pause in which I could almost hear him thinking. “She doesn’t know.”
I breathed out heavily, rethinking the sense in being completely honest with him. “About what?”
I felt him laugh. “Oh no, you can’t play that card now, Barlow. We’re baring our souls here tonight.”
I felt myself smile, even though I didn’t know why I’d have any reason to feel happy about that. “Fine. No, she doesn’t know I get a little…”
“Funky?” he offered with a slight tease to his voice.
I nudged him and he nudged me back. “Yeah. Funky.”
“Why not?”
I looked up at the stars and wondered about that. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t want to worry her. I don’t think she’ll understand. I don’t really want to have to explain myself to her when she doesn’t get it but tries to. The idea of talking to her about it is almost more stressful than the feeling.”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense.”
“You either don’t actually want to listen to my issues, or you don’t need to ask about them because you already understand…” I petered off, waiting for him to pick up the thread of conversation.
“Could it be Barlow, that I do want to listen – that I understand just enough to sympathise – but that I also just don’t want to push you further than you’re willing to go?” he asked slowly, like he wasn’t sure himself.
It felt like we were straying into far too serious territory, so I scoffed. “I doubt it. I’d say you were just bored.”
“That must be it, then,” he replied.
I heard the smile in his voice. It was much like his answer when we’d both known he’d fallen off his board to make me feel better the other day, but neither of us had seemed willing to admit it.
We lay and looked at the stars, chatting a little or just being until I decided I’d lain on the lakeshore with an undesirable companion for long enough.
Although, how undesirable was he now? I’d seen a whole new side of him that night, I’d felt a whole new comfort with him I never would have believed possible. I still wasn’t sure if was advisable, but there was something about it that intrigued me. But intrigued or not, I refused to let myself hang out with him for too long.
Roman offered to drive me back up to the house and I let him. He gave me a gorgeously sincere smile before I climbed out of his car and I went inside to deal with the no doubt barrage of messages from Hadley.
