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As soon as I finished my ridiculously busy shift and stepped out of the vicinity of Casa di Vitello, I checked my iPhone for any text messages. There was one from Kelly and one from Seb, but none from Deb.Guess our friendship really is over.
Seb:Deb told me you moved out? I wanted to see you this morning before you went to work. We need to talk. Message me when you finish.
The text message made my stomach lurch, and all I could think of was some girl grinding all over his lap while he sat down with his legs spread. Was that even true, though, or was Deb just trying to take Seb from me and sabotage our relationship? But what would be the point in that?
Me:I’m finished now, so you can meet me on the boardwalk outside of the Noosa Surf Club for a chat.
Seb:See you in ten.
I drove to the Surf Club car park a few minutes down the road and parked under a tree, then opened Kelly’s message.
Kelly:Hey Naomi, I hate to tell you this, but I just had to. Deb was paying you out all night as soon as you left and told everyone you were a really bad friend and that she was going to kick you out. Anyway, she and I had a massive fight because I saw her corner your man, Seb, and she tried to kiss him and grabbed his pecker. I loathe cheaters!!! I know this will shock you, but I’m just looking out for you. You’ve always been really nice to me and I feel sick Deb did that to you. Oh, and is it true she banged Daniel?
I blinked multiple times and stared at the tree branches swaying in the wind as I allowed that information to sink in.WOW!Maybe Deb was the girl grinding all over Seb, and maybe she said it was another girl because she felt guilty and wanted to pin it on someone else, the bloody liar. She did ask me about the size of his dick quite a bit too – guess her hand got the answer to that.
My work shirt suddenly felt too tight, and my car felt as though it was deprived of oxygen, so I flung open the door and stepped out onto the bitumen to suck in a deep breath. There were no cars parked beside me, and all around me felt empty – it wasn’t the usual buzzing Hastings Street. My head started drowning in all of the information, and my heart pounded to keep up with my colliding thoughts. Nausea thrashed around in my stomach like crashing waves, and my throat felt narrow, making it impossible to breathe. I gasped for air and looked up at the sky glittering with stars, hoping it would clear my mind and take away some of this shock.What the fuck.
Seb must have slithered up without me realising as when I looked around after calming my breathing and taking multiple gulps of water, he was already on the boardwalk. He stood under a lamppost, wearing a black shirt, knee-length jeans, and his Vans shoes. I paced over to him and felt my heart quicken with anger with each step I took.
‘Hey, gorgeous,’ he said and stepped close to me so he could kiss my lips.
‘Uh, no thanks.’ I held up my hand to block his kiss and took a step back.
‘Woah. What’s up with you?’ His eyes were wide with shock.
‘Read this, idiot.’ I held up a screenshot of the message from Kelly, with her name cut out, to his face.
I watched as his eyes read the message and waited until he looked back at me. ‘I can explain.’
I crossed my arms and exhaled. My legs and feet were aching, and all I wanted to do was have a hot shower, a glass of juice, and a nap, but, no, I had to have this chat with Seb because I needed to know the truth. I needed to hear it from his mouth – the-man-who-supposedly-loved-me’s mouth.
The only thing that was comforting me right now was the warmth coming from my handbag and the container of beef ragu Patrick had given me to try. He wanted me to come over after work, but I told him I needed to clear my head. He understood. He always understood.
‘Hurry up and explain then, Seb.’ I crossed my arms tighter.
‘Get a grip, Naomi. Are you really going to say you’ve never made a mistake?’ He looked at me with cold, dark eyes, his mouth turned up in a sneer.Who was this person?‘If you weren’t such a neg, you would have stayed out and kept drinking like a normal person.’
Huh? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. ‘You told me you were bored and were going to have a boys’ night! And a neg? What, because I don’t enjoy drinking as much as you do? Maybe you and I are just not compatible if you think not getting drunk makes me a “neg”. And what mistake are you talking about? Huh? Go on. Tell me, you coward.’ It took a lot of strength to resist pushing him off the boardwalk. A part of me wanted to see him land face-first in the sand.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, exhaled, and then looked out at the beach. The frothy waves crashed on the shoreline as he slid his foot around on the sandy path making annoying scuffing sounds, like a child.
‘Here we go with the compatible crap again.’ He sighed. ‘There’s no easy way to say this, Naomi, but we aren’t exclusive or anything … So, it’s not like I cheated—’
‘What?Cheated?’I spat out the word, feeling my blood boil.
‘Look, there was a hell of a lot of alcohol involved, and some coke too. I was horny, and this really amazing blonde chick was grinding on me, and, well, what do you expect me to do? I’m a hot-blooded male with the sex drive of a god.’ He looked down at the path. ‘So, I ended up going back to her house, and we fucked.’ He looked up with that flatness back in his expression and shrugged. ‘To be honest, I don’t even feel guilty. You and I aren’t exclusive, and I’m sick of waiting around for you to properly commit.’
‘Commit? I’ve been committed to you this whole time. We just never put a label on us. You said you loved me. Is that what love is to you? Is that how you treat someone you love? It sounds to me like you don’t know what love is, because you’d never treat someone you love like that.’ I paused for a moment to catch my breath, then continued, ‘And let’s be real here. You slept with someone else because I wouldn’t have sex with you the other night.’ I exhaled a breath of anger. ‘If youreallyloved me, you wouldn’t have even thought about touching another woman. Your feelings are as fake as your personality.’
He didn’t say anything. He just kept looking out at the dark ocean illuminated by the moon.
‘And did you really kiss Deb?’ I braced myself for his answer. Funnily enough, this hurt more than knowing he’d had sex with someone else.
‘Foul. No way. I pushed that fat trollop away.’ He shot me a look of pure disgust.
I felt a tiny sense of relief, but it was crushed like a sandcastle in a crashing wave by the knowledge I’d lost my best friend and lover in the one day. Two deep stabs. I was too angry to cry, and I knew there was no point arguing if there was nothing to gain, so I turned away to walk back to my car. Seb called my name once, but I could tell it was just for show. He’d gotten what he wanted out of me. I was just some amusement for him when he was home from the mines. Someone whose challenging personality bolstered his ego. I was just the mouse to his messed-up cat-and-mouse game, and nothing more.
If this was the way people carried on in life, then I wanted no part of it. I didn’t need friends – one way or another, they were bound to hurt you. They always did. I didn’t need anyone.
