Page 25 of The Winning Ticket

“I was chatting to Chris about that last night. I want to keep it, but I think I need to get a housemate or something. Can’t really afford to pay rates and stuff at two places.”

“What about Airbnb?” I ask.

Chris shakes his head. “Can’t. I looked over the Body Corp rules last night and saw that no Airbnbs are allowed. We also could have been in trouble with the party last weekend if we had like two more people.”

Will looks over at Jake. “You didn’t check the rules before you had the party?”

“Mate, I’ve never lived in an apartment before. I had no idea they had rules like that,” Jake says with a shrug, and Will shakes his head with a laugh.

“Yep, sadly, one of the joys of apartment living is that the Body Corp is basically God,” I say.

“Yeah, I got that after Chris read the rules to me. I did check to make sure it was okay for the fluff ball to be here, though, so that’s something, at least. Didn’t want you to get hassled in the lift,” Jake says, turning that gorgeous smile on for me, and I’m touched that he put that much thought into my coming over tonight.

“Aw, thanks, Jake,” I say, ignoring Morgan’s attention on us once again.

Jake briefly tenses a little, looking over at my sister before he claps his hands together.

“Right, let’s get this shit all cleaned up and test out this fancy media room. I wanna see what all the fuss is about.”

We set about tidying up after dinner, and once the dishwasher is running, we all head into the media room. It comes fully stocked with a library of Blu-rays, something I haven’t seen in years now that everything was available to stream.

The guys have a great time going through the action movies before settling on Gladiator, which I’ve never seen.

The media room consists of one huge couch with recliners in the middle and chaises on either end. I get comfy in one of the corners, and Maddie jumps onto my lap while the others all find seats. The two couples cuddle up, and I curl my legs under me to give Jake room to sit in front of me on the chaise.

After about half an hour, my legs start hurting, and I shift, trying to get comfortable.

Jake turns to look at me. “You okay?” he asks, just as the movie hits a particularly loud part.

“Yeah, just getting cramped from having my legs curled up.”

“You can stretch your legs out over me if you need.” His feet are propped up on the coffee table, and he pats his lap.

I hesitate momentarily before stretching my legs out, and it’s a relief not to be cramped anymore. But when he brings his hand down to rest on my calf, I wonder if it might have been a better idea to stay in pain, especially when I catch the curious look that Chris shoots over our way.

Jake doesn’t say anything else, and we all watch the rest of the movie in silence. Jake’s hand remains on my leg the entire time, squeezing occasionally, and I wonder if he even realises he’s doing it.

I certainly notice, as each time he does it, the butterflies in my stomach take flight.

When the movie ends, and he takes his hand away, I feel the loss of that hand immensely.

The movie has gone on for so long that it’s past ten by the time it finishes, and we all start to get ready to leave.

“Was good to see you again, mate. Will you be coming again next weekend?” Will asks Jake, shaking his hand as he and Annelisa head out the door.

“Not sure yet. I have to work out the whole housemate thing, so maybe. I’ll let you know,” Jake says, flicking a look towards me before looking away again.

He sees us all out, and I follow the others to the elevator. Once we get downstairs, we all separate and after hugging my sister, I head to my car with Maddie following behind on her lead.

When I reach my car, I start digging around in my handbag, but I can’t find my keys, and I groan, realising that I must have left them upstairs.

12

IT’LL BE GOOD FOR BOTH OF US

BRIANNA

Turning around, I lead Maddie back to Jake’s building and ring the intercom again.

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