Page 31 of Expiry Dating

A grunt was the only reply she was given, which was apparently a yes if the flip of his indicator was anything to go by.

The rusty sign declaring they’d entered Happy Vale Trailer Park was evidently a little misleading. As she looked around at the shabby trailers lining the narrow path, she wondered what it must have been like to grow up here. They’d talked about their childhoods, and she had already envisioned what a young Brady would look like, only she hadn’t placed him here.

He’d told her he grew up poor, told her he was from the “wrong side of the tracks,” but she’d never thought twice about it until now. It shouldn’t matter, and it didn’t to her, but it obviously did to him. She could tell just by how his demeanour had changed as they’d entered the park. It looked something like shame. And she didn’t like that.

“This was our spot.” He cut the engine in front of a rusty tin trailer and let out a long breath.

A big patch of brown spotted grass surrounded the camper and, again, she imagined him as a child playing out there.

“How long did you live here?”

“All my life, until I enlisted.” His voice cracked slightly as he stared at the sad piece of tin.

“You ever play hide-and-seek here?”

“What?”

“Hide-and-seek. You ever play that here? I bet even I could win a game here—there’s so many places to hide. And I guess there were other kids nearby for you to hang out with too?” She watched as the corner of his mouth tipped up, and for some reason she felt like she’d won something. What she’d won, she had no idea. All she knew was that seeing that smile made her happy.

She decided that if her blabbering had that effect on him, then let the word vomit commence. The potential for embarrassment was a better prospect than seeing any more shame on that handsome face. “When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed out by myself. I guess it was ’cos we lived in the city and my parents thought it was too dangerous. I couldn’t even sit in the small patch of grass out the front. There wasn’t a back garden, you see—one of the drawbacks of living in London, you don’t get much for your money.”

He was silent, and for a moment, she was rethinking her plan. When she twisted her neck to look over at him, he was just staring at her. If she’d been eating, this would be about the time she wiped her mouth to make sure she didn’t have food all over it.

“What?” Alice asked.

“Nothing.” He replied yet, he continued to stare until she arched her eyebrow at him in question. That earned her a head shake before he started the engine back up.

Weird. I’m normally the weirdo.

Although the drive out of Happy Vale was quiet, it wasn’t as comfortable as it was before. The air felt slightly thicker. Something had changed, but she didn’t know what. Luckily for her overactive brain, their next destination wasn’t too far away. It was, however, in the middle of nowhere. She searched around for landmarks as they drove down the bumpy side road, but there was nothing but a slightly sloped field ahead.

Brady parked. Well, as much as you can park up in a field.

“Just so you know, I had this all worked out. I was gonna bring a picnic and a blanket and—”

Alice placed her hand on his thigh and cut him off before he could continue. “I don’t need a picnic or a blanket or anything else, Brady. I just want to be here with you. Now, show me why you brought me here.”

That was obviously the right thing to say because his slight smile had now turned into a full-blown grin. After leaning into her for a quick kiss, he hopped out and rounded the truck to assist with her exit. She accepted his hand and jumped down. He didn’t give her hand back, though, he kept it and began leading her up the field, which she now realised was more like a small hill.

Concentrating a little bit too much on the way Brady’s wranglers hugged his behind, she wasn’t paying much attention to their surroundings. That is until they stopped. That was about the time her mouth dropped open.

“Holy shit.”

“I know, right?”

She didn’t reply, she just gawked. The afternoon sunlight illuminated the sandstone cliffs and dipped in and out of the jagged valleys. It was majestic. Breathtaking. But it wasn’t just the beauty that kept her in awe. There was something else, something rugged and wild about the sight before them. A little like Brady.

Now you’re comparing him to a view? What’s next, you gonna wax poetic about his six-pack?

Suddenly needing to sit, she slowly lowered herself into the grass, praying to the sundress gods that she didn’t put on a show when she attempted to cross her legs. Brady followed her down and immediately pulled her closer, not caring in the least about the careful, ladylike placement of her dress he’d just ruined.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead and tightened his grip on her waist. “Just like you, sweetness.”

They stayed like that for a while. Quiet. Drinking in the view. And she realised something. Being here with Brady, in this moment, with this view, nothing else mattered. All the anxiety she’d had about seeing Rob again. All the pent-up anger she had for her former best friend. It had all gone. It was nothing compared to how she felt right now. Content. Free. Happy. And it was that feeling that made her want to open up to Brady.

“I didn’t move here because of what happened with Rob.” She let the confession hang in the air. Brady had tried to ask her about Rob a few times, but she’d shut him down. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t really sure why she was now. The only thing she was sure of was that something had changed today.

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