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CHAPTER 17
“We’ll do our best to make Eucla tonight,” Oliver said as they hopped into the Shaggin’ Wagon an hour later.
“What’s at Eucla?”
“The old telegraph station. It’s how they used to send messages across from Adelaide to Perth. Along telegraph poles. All that’s left is a ruined building and a jetty, I believe. Amid lots of sand dunes.”
“How far is it?”
“About six hours’ drive.”
They’d said their farewells to Mitch and Shelley, and Oliver had fed Maxwell a bit of grass that was just as dry as the grass inside Maxwell’s pen, but for some reason Maxwell thought it was caviar coming from Oliver.
She kind of got that.
And her and Oliver? Well, at least the air seemed to have cleared between them.
Felicity had woken super early, just as the light crept through the windows, and tossed and turned in the Shaggin’ Wagon, which meant it kind of shook and creaked and it did occur to her that if you were actually shagging, the suspension might not be able to take it, and it might rock right off its axles.
The thing was, she had to work out what to do. About the wrist kiss. Yet another incident to add to the list of body contacts that kept happening between them. She’d pretty quickly decided it could not be ignored. It had left her confused and wanting… the damp slick between her thighs, the feeling of being ripe and swollen and ready for…oh dear,yes, she wasreallyannoyed with Oliver for making her feel this way. Because if she did anything secretly, quietly, to relieve the problem, the Shaggin’ Wagon would likely shake and… oh,bollocksit wasn’t fair! She’d let her hand slide down between her legs for a moment, decided that was a really bad idea, and removed it.
No way was she prepared to feel this tense for the next five or seven or however many days they had left on the road together. She knew she had to lighten the mood between them.
At Hedgedown Lodge every morning there had been an hour of laughing yoga led by a lovely woman called Indira who would make them stand in a circle on the lawn and then she would start laughing. And within five minutes they would all be laughing, Evie doubled over clutching her belly, Felix’s growly laugh rumbling above the rest of them. And by the end of it they’d all be genuinely happy.
That’s what laughing did. Kicked in your endorphins.
So, by the time Oliver returned from the shower, she’d worked out how to approach the issue, and hey presto, it had worked like a dream. They were back on the road and back in sync with one another, chatting away normally. And the further they drove, the more Felicity wondered if that intense interlude had even happened.
When they reached Eucla, they found the ruins of the old telegraph station nearly swamped in sand dunes and pig face, and a small broken-down jetty the only other sign that this spot had ever been inhabited. They set up at the nearby camp site in a spot overlooking the ocean. Felicity made a salad and Oliver cooked sausages and they got chatting to another couple who were heading towards Perth, and Felicity made a big thing about how her and Oliver were just travel companions. The evening passed easily, except for the odd occasion when she’d feel Oliver’s eyes on her, maybe just a bit longer than you’d expect. And her breath would catch a little in her throat.
After they’d cleared up, Oliver took his book and headed towards his tent.
“What are you reading?” she called out, not quite ready to let the evening end.
He held it up.
“Oh,Where The Crawdads Sing. I loved that book. Enjoy.”
“I will. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Oliver.”
Their gazes tangled, and for a moment she wondered whether to offer him her wrist again.
Or possibly even her lips.
Which was just plain dumb, so she scooted into the van, slammed the door, and leaned against it until her pulse had slowed.
* * *
“Isthat what I think it is?” Felicity squinted into the sunshine at a giant fibreglass kangaroo gazing across the flat plains with a big grin on its face—and what’s more, she realised, bursting out laughing, a big jar of vegemite held up in its paw.
“We’re at the Border Village. Almost into South Australia,” Oliver explained as they parked. They bought supplies and fuel and before they left, Oliver took a photo of her standing in front the giant kangaroo, and she sent it off to Evie while she still had a snippet of range.
Evie:Love it. Think I’ll sculpt a giant slug to go out the front of the Slug and Lettuce.
Felicity:Not cute.
