Page 59 of The Winning Ticket

"I've never understood the dynamic between Jake and Morgan," Kylie says, shaking her head.

"Morgan and Jake were best friends from the womb. Our Mums met in pregnancy classes. Morgan only noticed Chris when she discovered boys, but she and Jake were inseparable as kids," I explain, and Tara nods.

She's known our family for almost as long as Jake.

"How come they never hooked up then?" Kylie looks confused.

"It was just never like that for either of them. And Jake had a thing for our girl here," Tara says, and I look at her with raised eyebrows.

"How did you know he liked me in school? You never said anything."

"Because I wasn't getting involved. I figured he had his own reasons for not saying anything, even though I could see it plain as day. But I guess he's told you now?"

I nod. "He told me on Saturday morning… When we agreed to keep this casual."

Tara regards me quietly for a moment. "Be careful, Bri. I don't want to sound like Morgan here, but Jake's one of the good ones. Don't let your issues drive him away, or worse, break both your hearts. I'm sure the sex is amazing, but you guys have way more between you than that, and I don't think either of you is going to be capable of keeping this from turning into something far more."

I didn't know what to say in response to that, so I simply nodded.

Damn Tara and her ability to see things that others were oblivious to. I'd forgotten about this side of her in our years living far away from each other, but now that I'm back in Brisbane, the people who had known me longest still have the ability to see through my quiet exterior and drill right down to my core.

"So, enough about this stuff," Kylie said, clapping her hands together. "Tara and I have decided to plan a trip to Europe next year. You wanna come?"

I stare at her momentarily, trying to keep up with the abrupt change in subject. "Ah… maybe? I need to work out my employment situation before I plan any overseas trips, but it sounds amazing. Where are you thinking?"

"So far, I'm looking at one of those under-thirties bus tours. Figure it's the easiest way to see as much as possible, and it will be good for Tara once she inevitably needs a break from my awesomeness."

"You mean, the ones where you get drunk for three weeks and don't remember what country you're in?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Kylie's smile dims a little. "Well, I won't be taking part in the drinking side. I've decided to give up drinking. The last few years haven't been great, and I know how messy I get… And I'm tired of getting blackout drunk, only to find nothing has changed when I wake up in the morning other than I've done something else for Will to lecture me about."

Tara reaches across the table to squeeze her hand.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around more, Kyles… I had no idea this had been happening. Are you okay?" I ask, feeling guilty that my time with Richard had led me to neglect the friendships that had meant so much to me before I'd left.

Kylie shrugs. "I think I'm just looking for something that makes me happy. I've always wanted to travel. I'm also thinking of spending some time with my family in Canada. Something has got to change, though. I'm just feeling a little stuck, I guess."

"Well, I, for one, support you in this. And I can't wait for our trip," Tara says with a grin, and Kylie shoots her a grateful look.

"Have I mentioned how much I missed you two? Because I really, really did," I say, and they both smile at me.

"We missed you, too, sad sack," Kylie says, and I laugh.

Just like that, the sadness lifts, and we spend the rest of the evening watching crappy TV and discussing all the places we want to see together.

25

WEEKEND BOOTY CALLS

BRIANNA

“What do you think of this one?” Annelisa steps out of the dressing room next to mine, smoothing out the skirt of the latest in a long line of blue dresses we’ve tried.

Morgan pulls a face. “Definitely not.”

I sigh, stepping backwards into the dressing room behind me and yanking the curtain closed.

“I’m beginning to think that Mum wasn’t the issue when you went wedding dress shopping, Morgan,” I say as I yank the zip on the side down and let the dress fall to the ground.

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