‘Something Shane said on that night out in Adelaide.’
‘What an arsehole,’ Josh scoffs. ‘She’s been around way too much for me.’
‘Oh, really?’ I smirk. ‘I thoughtyouwere the one who’d been around?’
‘Did Shane tell you that, too?’
‘No, it wasn’t him, actually.’
‘Who, then?’
‘It doesn’t matter. It’s true though, isn’t it?’
‘Girls like guys who are experienced.’
‘Do they, now?’
‘Don’t you?’ he challenges me. ‘Or haven’t you got to third base yet?’
Now he’s the one who’s smirking and it pisses me off.
I put on a fake pout. ‘No. Do you want to deflower me?’ His eyes light up and I let out a sharp laugh. ‘In your dreams, you sad git. Budge over, I need the loo.’
He doesn’t move. He stares at me with defiance and a touch of anger, and I realise that Josh does not like being made a fool out of.
I don’t give a toss.
‘Move,’ I hiss, snapping him out of his mood.
I come out of the toilets a few minutes later to see Josh at the bar, ordering whisky shots. I slip outside unnoticed and call a taxi with the mobile phone Mum lent me. I’ll text him on the way home to let him know where I’ve gone.
‘Ho, ho, ho, MERRY CHRISTMAS!’
This is the sound I wake up to on Saturday morning, Michael booming his way down the corridor and banging on every door he passes. I groan and fall out of bed.
My next thought is Josh. Did he make it home okay? There’s no way I’m going into his bedroom to check so I pull on my dressing-gown and hurry down the corridor into the living room to look out of the front window. His car is on the driveway. Phew. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.
I’ve somehow managed to sleep in until ten, so I only have three and a half hours to get through before I see Ben again. Mum wants to do presents as soon as possible. We have to wait another half an hour though before Josh emerges, hungover and dishevelled. He ignores me and I don’t particularly care.
Michael gives Mum a watch and she gives him a jumper, which he finds amusing considering it’s the middle of summer. I get a bunch of little things like shower gel and body butter from the Body Shop, glitzy earrings that I’ll probably never wear, and the new album from my favourite band, Fence.
Mum likes the candle and perfume I got for her, and Michael is excessively delighted with the socks I ended up buying for him. Josh didn’t get me anything so he looks a little shamefaced when I hand over a gift-wrapped box of salted macadamia nuts.
I spend ages in the bathroom getting ready and take great care over my outfit, eventually deciding to wear my black skirt again, this time with a purple top. I leave my hair down, but go to the trouble of applying lipgloss, plus mascara to lift my light-brown eyes. Then I wait.
Michael cracks open the bubbly at one o’clock. At one-thirty, Mum tells us to take a seat at the table. I look at her in confusion.
‘Aren’t we waiting for Ben?’
‘He’s not coming,’ she says, as though she thought I knew.
I feel as if she’s kicked me in the stomach. ‘Why not?’ I glance from her to Michael in a panic. Michael answers.
‘One of his koalas was taken ill in the night. Ben didn’t want to leave it.’
‘Was it Olivia?’
‘I don’t know.’
