Page 90 of Fire Fight

CADENCE

When the twinshad first mentioned a ‘nature reserve’ I had visions of carefully cultivated plants and wide paths cutting through the foliage. Three steps into the tangle of wild bush, and neither Drake nor I can see back to the car.

I stop and lean my hand against a tree trunk to catch my breath, yanking it away as it touches something squidgy.

It might be moss. I’m not going to check.

“You wouldn’t want to get lost in here,” I grumble as my heels sink into the soft earth, tipping me backwards until I have to pinwheel my arms to stay standing. “Nobody would ever find you.”

“Handy for dumping bodies,” he agrees, moving behind to catch me if I fall. “And the smell of rotting vegetation is strong enough to hide decomposition.”

A statement which suggests he’s given it far too much thought.

“A few photos as proof for Arnold,” he adds, “and we can leave again. Go do something fun.”

“With his curfew?” His father told us to be home by the dot of midnight or else. “If we head somewhere else, we’ll barely arrive before we have to leave.”

“Ignore that. He’ll be sound asleep at eleven, like usual.” Drake drops his voice low, rumbling, “He’ll never know what we’ve been up to before we sneak inside.”

And while that voice does interesting things to my nether regions, he adds, “But if you don’t hurry, we’ll never reach the party.”

“Some of us are balancing on insanely long sticks.” I turn around to poke at his chest and stumble instead, being rescued by his quick reflexes.

“That isn’t balancing,” he says, exploding with laughter.

When I bare my teeth, he scoops me up, hefting me over his shoulder like a bag of coal. Except, I don’t think coal would receive the soft pat on its behind.

A minute of hanging upside down has all the blood pooling in my head, my face throbbing. “Are we there yet?”

Drake sets me on my feet again, arm around my waist as I adjust to the abrupt change. “It’s just through those flax bushes.” He points at a patch of natural flora that looks the same as all the rest to my aggressively urban eyes. “See the fairy lights?”

The moment he says it, I spot them dangling along the treeline.

“Now, all we have to do is keep you out of sight of Gretchen and her entourage and we’ll be sweet.” He whacks through the last metre of brush to emerge on a manicured lawn. “Coast clear.”

I follow him, thankful the dry summer sun has worked far more effectively on the grass than it had in the dense reserve.

The back lawn slopes gently down to the beach, clumps of tussock grass acting as a windbreaker while holding the sand in place.

“Are all the properties around here this beautiful?”

“If they’re not, it’s down to the owners’ horrendous taste rather than lack of funds.”

Music drifts across the expanse of the back yard, speakers dangling from trees, propped on folding chairs, or resting directly on the ground. One woofer is face down, blasting its low beats into the sod so even with the heels, the soles of my feet tingle.

I’m cautious, checking in all directions, then spot Gretchen on the swimming platform, wearing the skimpiest bikini I’ve ever seen, and relax.

We take a selfie in front of the foliage, another beside the house, capturing the lights, then Drake chooses a seat at the outdoor fire pit where there’s a circular concrete bench, the occupants forming a human windbreak.

“This party is lame,” Viliami declares as he wanders into the circle, holding two stubbies. One beer for him and… another one for him. The moment he dunk-shots the first in the bin, he twists the lid off the next.

He angles towards me, taking a seat with his thigh pressed firmly against mine. I think it’s because he’s lost his balance to drink but then his hand sneaks around to press against my lower back. “You give any more thought to being the filling in a twin sandwich? I’m still game.”

My face turns bright red, and Drake loses some of his composure, peeling Viliami’s hand away and putting his own in its place while he barely seems to notice.

“Make that an open sandwich.” He gestures to where Salesi is lying flat on his back, only the rhythmic nod of his head showing he’s conscious.

“Remember when I told you to stay away from my sister?”

---