Page 69 of Pieces of Us

‘Just chill. Look, I didn’t want to bring this up, but I know things escalated between you and her.’ She makes a gagging sound, and I don’t blame her. Siblings sharing their sex lives is gross. ‘I think you need to cool it until she sorts out what she wants. You’ve practically told her the ball is in her court, so let her take it from here.’

‘Fine,’ I mutter.

I didn’t technically beg for an invite. I just subtly suggested Jas text, asking if I can come.

Either way, I was invited—or given the go ahead to show up. I am ecstatic to be seeing Hart again. My mood is only slightly soured at the thought of seeing her with fuckface Jagger, who eclipses me in every category as a man.

‘Look, for what it’s worth, at least you’ve…connected again,’ she says with a grimace.

Fiddling with the air conditioning, I can’t wrap my head around the past few days. Connecting would imply we’re on our way to being together again. To be fair, she hasn’t outrightly ignored me. She’s entertained my morning and good night texts, as well as hearted some of the memories I’ve reminded her of, but she hasn’t gone beyond that. I’m half afraid that reminding her of the good times will inevitably lead to the bad times.

‘Linc?’ Jas places her hand affectionately on my knee.

‘Yeah?’ I sound like a deflated balloon.

‘I can still see a spark between the two of you.’

I half smile at her as we pull into Uncle Mark’s driveway. As I unlatch my seatbelt and climb out, Jas yanks me back by the shirt, stopping me. She’s penetrating me with a steely glare.

‘Don’t fuck anything up tonight,’ is all she warns before she hops out herself, waiting to lock the car.

Blowing out a breath as I make my way to their door, I silently promise to be on my best behaviour. It still can’t stop the seething jealousy bubbling away in my chest at the thought of Mr I-run-two-minutes-then-have-to-stop-hot-shot-NFL-player sleeping under the same roof as her. I’ve never outwardly asked out of fear, but what if he has scratched her itches in the past, and they get it on over the next couple of weeks?

I still don’t know what the future holds for Amity and me, but I hope at least I’ll get more of a chance to woo her before she leaves. Chances will be limited if Mr NFL is cockblocking me.

Approaching the front door, we don’t even get a chance to open it and make ourselves at home like we had in the past. Instead, it swings open, revealing my heart.

Lust, adoration and love fills me as I observe her gorgeous, smiling face.

‘Hi!! Come in!’ she ushers us in. I know she’s more excited about Jas being here than me, but I’ll take any scrap of joy she gives me.

She’s in a pale blue mini dress, her legs and arms bare, highlighting her flawless, golden skin. She has no shoes on and looks more than casual in her own home. I hate how much skin she’s showing because it means if I can salivate over it, so can Jagger.

‘Everyone’s already here. I know we usually do a bigger thing for Dad, but he wanted to keep it relatively small this year with being injured and all, so really it’s just the core gang. Your dad, Lil’s fam, and Rome’s fam. Oh, and Ella,’ she rambles, trying to fill the awkwardness of me being here between the front door and backyard.

As she chats, I take in her achingly gorgeous face. With no make-up and hair carelessly plaited in two, you could mistake her for some sort of pornographic milk maid.

Rubbing at my chest to soothe the twinge I feel there, being in the presence of almost everyone who hates me, I miss that she’s slowed down to chat beside me. ‘Um, is being here still going to be okay?’ Her jade green eyes regard me as she grabs my arm.

‘It’ll be fine. I’m here for you, anyway.’ I smile down at her, seeing her nose crinkle adorably as she looks down. Her beauty really is arresting.

‘Sweetheart, Jas, go on ahead.’ I hear Uncle Mark’s voice nearing closer as he ambles towards us on crutches.

Amity’s grip tightens before she reluctantly obeys. Kissing her dad on the cheek, she links arms with Jas and walks out the back. He turns to make sure they’re out of sight.

I swallow in anticipation of what I know is about to be a warning. It stuns me when he puts his arm around my shoulder. I almost have to blink back tears at the familiar memories that asail me.

Uncle Mark has always been a second dad to me. After I fucked things up with Amity, he made it pretty clear how disappointed he was in me, and our relationship suffered massively. Over the years, we’ve steered clear of talking about her and focused more on me becoming an architect. I’ve stayed away as much as I can when he’s been over out of respect. I’ll never forget the look of disdain on his face when Billie and I came downstairs mid-footy game. After that unfortunate encounter, Dad and Jas tended to go to Uncle Mark’s instead. I hate that I lost his love and respect. It didn’t matter how much sucking up I did, his fierce loyalty to Hart trumped everything.

I understood every look of disgust and grimace, every time he ignored me. If I had a daughter whose heart had smashed to smithereens, I would want to erase him from our lives as well.

‘Something feels right, having you both here,’ he says, leaning on me as we walk slowly outside. ‘I just want you to know, man, you broke my heart when you broke hers. I lost a son…but if Amity can forgive you, then so can I.’

He squeezes my shoulder to let me know we’re good. ‘Now come on, let’s get you a drink.’ With the short, mushy shit over, we make our way to the esky.

Sausages, steak and rissoles hit my senses as we near the barbecue. It smells delicious, making my mouth water in anticipation. It also reminds me of the weekly barbecues we used to have together for years while growing up.

Rome and Lily are sitting at the patio table with Dad, Jas and their parents—parents who I also let down with my poor decisions. A thread of apprehension worms through me at the sight of my former best mate, Rome. Both he and Lily were steadfast in their loyalty to Amity, and I can’t fault them for that.

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