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My phone buzzed – the wallpaper of Dad and me covered in flour and sharing a giggle flashed on the screen. A sudden pang hit my stomach, accompanied by an urge to cry, as that familiar burning sensation arose in my throat. Determined to hold back the tears, I focused on Deb’s goodnight message, trying to anchor myself in the present.
3
A Kitchen Shift
With one bleary eye, I reached for the digital clock on my nightstand and checked the time: 6:23am. Less than four hours until I had to get dressed for work. I squeezed my eyes shut again, and just as I was about to drift off, I heard my iPhone buzz.Who is texting me soooo early?
I opened the text.
Deb:Morning Chick, sorry if I woke you, I know you hate early mornings. But I need your advice. Were you lying when you said my hair looks good this short? No one complimented me and it just made me think I looked crap.
Me:Deb, you looked great last night, you always do & no one probably said anything because you only got a trim. It’s not that big of a difference lol.
Deb:Yeah, you’re right, but the auburn looks better brighter don’t you think? Like no one even mentioned the colour ...
Me:I promise you looked great. Now I better get some sleep or I’ll be grumpy all shift xx
Deb:Haha you’re not wrong about that. You know ... the quickest way to re-energise is sex ... just remember that. See your tired arse later.
A quiet chuckle escaped my lips as I placed my phone back on the nightstand. I turned my attention to Seb and observed his face while he slept. His eyes were twitching, and his mouth was slightly open. The lilac blanket covered the bottom half of his body, from his hips down, baring the dark hair on his chest and the snail trail down his belly. His arms were the smoothest part of his body, with minimal hair. He must have felt me staring because he opened his eyes, smiled, then wrapped his arm around me. An unsuspected warmth ran through my body as we cuddled for a few minutes, silently, and I found myself staring into his eyes. The ceiling fan whooshed above our heads in an attempt to keep us cool in the late-September heat. My room felt like Mon Amour’s kitchen as beads of sweat trickled down my forehead, and to top off my discomfort, a sharp pang sliced through my stomach, reminding me of the abuse it copped from last night’s vodka.
It felt nice, Seb being in my bed. I never had men in my bed at Mum’s. It was too awkward to bring someone home.What if it failed?I hated the thought of introducing someone to Mum and my younger brother, Carlos, and within months, they’re gone. Right now, stability was what my family needed more than anything.
Seb yawned and stretched his arms out wide, then did snow angel-like movements with his legs as he flexed his feet.
‘Good morning, gorgeous.’ He leant in and pecked me on the cheek.
‘Morning,’ I croaked as I glanced at his russet eyes. The gel that slicked his hair back had softened, and his small curls dangled.
‘How was your beauty sleep?’ He looked at my sleepy face with a smile.
‘Deprived. Wish I was still sleeping, to be honest.’ I fluffed up my pillow, sank my head back on it, and sighed.
Seb laughed and slid his arm under my neck to pull me to his chest so that our faces were only inches apart. ‘You’re such a cutie, you know that?’
I let out a chuckle.Gorgeous. Cutie. He sure liked his pet names.
‘Billy is picking me up at seven. Do you know the time?’ His carefree demeanour disappeared, and his voice was raised with sudden urgency.
‘Last time I checked, it was nearly six-thirty.’ I let out a yawn and closed my eyes for a few seconds.
‘Looks like I’ll have to love you and leave you sooner than I realised, but before then, toilet duties call.’ Seb rolled out of bed and landed on his feet before creeping out of my room and taking a right turn.
There was no point trying to get sleep now, when Seb was about to leave, so I grabbed my phone and tapped on the Instagram app. The first photo on my newsfeed was Deb posing with her eyes squinted shut and her tongue poking out while Victor squished his face to hers, flashing his goofy chipped-tooth grin. It was captioned as ‘Shameless selfies with my favourite Frenchie’.I hearted the photo, then scrolled through photos of food, cosmetics and the odd selfie of a friend or celebrity.
Seb returned with a grin as he slid back into my bed and placed his head on the pillow. I couldn’t stop staring at his mangled hair, the texture wiry and greasy.
‘Naomi … I … uh … hope me staying over can be a regular thing.’ He cleared his throat.
‘Well, I must admit that you not paying me out after I made a fool out of myself last night did leave quite a good impression.’ I nodded, pleased.
‘Sounds promising.’ He winked.
‘I am never drinking on an empty stomach again, though, and that’s a promise. I don’t know what I was thinking, drinking vodka like that.’ I patted my belly and internally said sorry to it for making it sick.
‘We should get takeaway next time, and we’ll pass a bottle of Jack Daniel’s around.’ His face was alight with hope.
I shook my head. ‘No, thanks. Me drinking last night was aone-off.’
