Only then he couldn’t drink.
He begged me, offered me $20 and to buy my friends and I alcohol whenever we needed.
But that wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted an invitation to go to Cooper’s house with him.
“Fine. But I’m driving both ways, I won’t be talking to eitherof you and will sit next to the pool wearing headphones.” My sufferance was so well performed he bought it in an instant, leaving me to freak out in peace.
Five minutes before we were supposed to leave, the nerves were circling in my stomach. I knew I looked good, but I hoped Cooper noticed too. While my boobs weren’t as big as I would have liked them to be, they were decent. I had a good arse, and my skin held a nice tan thanks to the distant European genetics from my mum. I was far from immune to the attention of the males in my grade, but none of them came close tohimand it was why I’d stopped accepting any of their invitations to dinner or a movie. Yet, I hadn’t worked up the courage to tell my brother’s best friend that I liked him, and I hoped like hell, today he would finallynoticeme.
Heading out to the car, I cranked the air-conditioner and beeped the horn. Sebastian came running down the driveway wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, a towel thrown over his shoulder and a backpack in tow. The distinct sound of glass on glass rattled as he put it on the floor before jumping into the passenger’s seat and I shot him a questioning look.
“I’ll let you have one if you don’t tell Mum.”
“Deal.” I easily acquiesced, stoked to be involved in their shenanigans again.
When we turned into Cooper’s driveway a short time later, I wound down the window and rang the buzzer. I’d been here before with Mum to collect my brother a few times, but I still found myself impressed by the sheer size of the property and the beauty of the grounds.
I mean, it had a gate with an intercom for goodness’ sake.
The picturesque house didn’t align with the Cooper who seemed genuinely grateful to eat chicken, potato and vegetables at our house for dinner. The boy who shared a mattress in the living room with Seb after a day of riding bikes out in the dirt. Yet this was thelonely placehe referred to as his home.
This was a damn mansion, and I struggled to see how it couldbe so lonely when you had a full-time chef, cleaner, gardener and everything else people with this much money had at their disposal.
The gate opened, and before I knew it we were parked and entering the front door - a space I’d never been, but always wished I could. As expected, it was immaculate and something I could only ever dream of owning and I had to physically stop my mouth from widening when we stepped inside.
“Evangeline, hurry up,” Seb whisper-screamed at me, as he walked through the corridor like we hadn’t just stepped into the Buckingham Palace of Sydney. I followed quickly, trying to ignore the spiral staircase which led to the second level, a stunning library which I could have spent at least a month in without ever leaving and a few other closed doors as we headed into the biggest kitchen I’d ever seen, and through a set of French doors out to the backyard. The pool was equally as impressive and a man in a polo shirt and shorts was busily sweeping the tiles that appeared to be sparkling clean already.
Was this how the other half lived?
Knowing I was about to see Cooper,I began to feel nervous. It didn’t matter how often I saw him, simply knowing we were going to be in the same vicinity gave me butterflies in the stomach and an instantly dry mouth. I spent a long time perfecting the art of nonchalance, needing to make sure I hid my monster crush as the thought of him or my brother ever finding out was horrifying. The only other person who suspected it was Mum and that was because apparently,a mother can tell when her baby is in love. I’d vehemently denied her accusations, mortified she had discovered my secret so easily.
But she was right.
Cooper was the only boy I could ever think about and now he was going to see me in my swimsuit. My gorgeous green bikini that did amazing things for my chest.
“Seb, where’s the bathroom?” I whispered, the nerves bringing on a full bladder.
“Down there, second door on your right,” he pointed to a passage off the kitchen, as he walked towards the pool.
My brother was never mean to me. In fact, since Dad left when we were kids, he’d become my saviour. But I had no doubt he would have preferred if I wasn’t here with him and his friends.
Ducking into the bathroom, I closed the door and took a few deep breaths. Lifting my dress over my head, I stood and assessed myself one last time. I looked good. And today I was going to show Cooper that I wasn’t the little girl with the big glasses. I wasn’t just Sebastian’s little sister, but a soon to be eighteen-year-old who also enjoyed being outside and listening to true crime podcasts. Just like he did.
Exiting the bathroom, I headed back the way I came when his distinctive voice froze me to the spot.
“Just come, Kat, it’s only Seb and I. Oh and his younger sister, but she’s no one, you won’t even notice she’s here.”
The air vacated my lungs in a whoosh as my brain did the math.
Cooper had never been nasty to me or made me feel as though I was a burden. If anything, he included me more than Seb, and even when I was hidden in my room doing homework, he would hunt me down and force me to join them.
No one. You won’t even notice she’s here.
“Kat, yes, she’s a kid but I told you, she won’t tell her mum anything so we’re good. Bring Tammy and the four of us can have a few drinks. I told Seb not to bring her, but you know he’s a good guy.”
A kid. Told him not to bring her.
