“Ooooo, that’s juicy!” Claire exclaimed. “Did old daddy have an affair?”
“It was when he and my mother were split up, before I was even born,” Amanda jumped in to defend her father.
“My mother moved overseas when she got pregnant. He didn’t know,” I added, not wanting to give anyone the impression my father was a bad man. I didn’t know him, but I trusted the girl’s opinions of him.
“It’s like a soap opera from the nineties,” Claire grinned.
“It can seem a little unbelievable,” I chuckled. “Even to me, and I lived it.”
“I bet,” Claire replied, ignoring Amanda as she eyed me. “So… Nick, are you single?”
Amanda frowned at the woman, but I jumped in before she could say anything. Going off at Claire for hitting on me would be about as bad as me punching Craig for the same thing. It seemed both Amanda and I were destined to be plagued by blonde assholes.
“No, I just moved to Australia a few weeks ago, and I’m still settling in. Right now, my sisters are my priority. Family is important,” I replied.
“Such a shame,” Claire pouted. “You’re very handsome, although you could do with some styling, maybe a haircut and a nice outfit. But other than that, I could eat you up.”
I wasn’t accustomed to Claire’s forward approach to flirting, nor was I ready for her odd compliment-insults. The dark look on Amanda’s face told me exactly what she was thinking. I had to defuse the situation before our lunch date ended with Amanda putting Claire’s head through a window.
“How about some tips sometime, maybe over a coffee?” I replied, praying to all the gods that Amanda wouldn’t flip her shit.
“We could have a coffee right now,” Claire said.
“Right now isn’t good,” I said. “Amanda and I are in the middle of a family matter.”
“I’m sure that can wait,” Claire countered, clearly not wanting to take no for an answer.
“Work, then play,” I winked.
Before Claire could say anything else, I stretched my arms over my head. I threw a yawn in there for good measure as I tensed the muscles in both arms and stretched my back out, acting oblivious to the girls watching. The action had the desired effect on Claire as she seemed to forget what she was about to say.
Claire grabbed a napkin and scribbled something on it before sliding it to me. “Call me soon, handsome,” then she turned to Amanda and smiled at her. “Good to see you, Mandy.”
Both Amanda and I watched Claire leave, and the blonde shot me a devious smile as she left the cafe, probably thinking my look was watching her ass as she left. Instead, I was watching out of pure shock that someone could be so confident and forward in a situation she was clearly not welcome in. Did she not notice? Or maybe she just didn’t care?
I turned back to Amanda and noticed that my display affected my eldest sibling differently. Amanda’s look of anger and annoyance had faded, only to be replaced with one of hurt a disappointment. I took a gamble, and I won. I just needed to ensure that Amanda knew that.
I picked up the napkin with Claire’s phone number and held it out for Amanda to see. Then I scrunched it up and lobbed it across the room into a nearby trash can. “That’s what I think of her.”
A grin spread across Amanda’s face instantly. “I fucking hate her.”
“Odd friend’s you girls have,” I chuckled.
“She was never my friend!” Amanda laughed. “She used to torment me in school.”
“Ah, one of those,” I nodded. “I had a few of them myself. People that decide you’re finally good enough once puberty is done with you.”
“Claire was always the hottest girl in my school and dated the cutest guys,” Amanda said. “I was such her polar opposite that I stood out just as much.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I assured her.
“Well, I was,” Amanda shrugged. “Erica even had boobs before I did.”
“Erica has enough boobs for all four of you,” I chuckled.
Amanda giggled, then looked down at her hands. “Claire was always so mean to everyone, but especially me. It makes me so mad that she acts friendly to me now, and it’s all because you were sitting here. Like she can use me to get to you.”
Our waitress came by then to drop off our orders, and an air of silence hung over the table for a few minutes. There was no way I’d call Claire, even if I were available, and she wasn’t a bitch to Amanda. She isn’t my type. I had a similar vibe from Jen, but I was horny as fuck that night, and she climbed into my bed naked, and Sarah had a similar look to Claire, but she was super friendly and adorable.
“I’d never go for Claire in a million years,” I said.
“She’s beautiful, though,” Amanda shrugged.
I placed my hand on Amanda’s, as she had done only minutes before. “Not next to you; she isn’t.”
Amanda’s face split into a huge smile, and her cheeks reddened. “Thank you, Nick.”
“Like… have you seen your ass?” I added, pulling at the collar of my shirt jokingly. “That thing alone must be why it’s so hot over here.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Amanda grinned. “I grew it myself.”
“You’re so lame,” I laughed, shaking my head.
“It’s genetic,” Amanda sighed dramatically.
Amanda and I finished our meals without further interruption and headed to the nearby shopping district. I desperately needed new clothes, and Amanda casually mentioned trying on a new bathing suit.
The shopping district wasn’t very far from the university-I often went there for lunch-so we walked back the way we came and picked up Amanda’s car. A short two-minute drive later had us pulling up to an open-aired shopping centre that was little more than a giant horseshoe lined with shops and stalls of all sizes, from small one-person kiosks to a massive department store. The centre was decorated heavily with greenery and shade sails crisscrossing overhead, giving the entire place a tropical and exotic vibe.
“I love coming here,” Amanda said as we walked past the threshold.
“It’s definitely different to what we have back home,” I replied.
“Wrong,” Amanda stopped me and tugged on my hand.
I stopped and turned to face her. She was smiling, and her blue eyes sparkled with mischievous intent. Her pursed lips begged me to kiss her, but I was very aware of how publicly exposed we were.
“Wrong about what?” I asked.
Amanda took a step closer, resting her hands on my hips as I did the same to hers.
“About your home,” she said softly. Her breasts pressed against my chest as we leaned into each other.
“What about it?” I asked, totally enraptured by her.
“This is your home now.”
Then our lips touched, and the world ceased to exist.