Page 21 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

“Why is that pig wearing an Essendon jumper?” he demands, looking mildly freaked out.

“‘Cause she’s a good girl who loves the Bombers.”

“Seems like animal cruelty if you ask me.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You take that back.”

A slow, teasing smile spreads across his face. “Never.”

We finish off our martinis and I start to move away to order my shout when I realise I’ve once again let myself get caught up in chatting to Xav and have forgotten all about the plan for him to find a rebound tonight. “Oh my god,” I groan, tapping a palm to my forehead.

“What is it?” Xavier asks, looking concerned.

“I’ve been completely neglecting my wingman duties.”

He lets out an annoyed grunt, shaking his head slowly. “No. No, no, no. We’re not doing this.”

I reach out to grip his shoulders, squeezing gently to reassure him. “Don’t be silly, it’s not like I’m planning to marry you off to some total random. All you need to do istalkto someone. Who knows, maybe talking will lead to something else. Or maybe it won’t. But at least you’ll have tried.”

“Trent…”

If I’d had one less drink, I might have found myself heeding the warning in his voice, but as it stands I’m just the right amount of tipsy for this to be the best idea I’ve ever had. “Come on,” I encourage, “there must besomeonehere you’ve got your eye on.”

He lets out a loud grunt of frustration. “Of course there is!”

And then, before I have a chance to say anything else, he reaches toward me, and I feel strong arms wrapping themselves around me and soft lips descending on mine.

GLOSSARY

Tradie - An umbrella term covering any kind of skilled manual work such as carpentary, tiling, plumbing etc

Essendon - a suburb (town) of inner Melbourne, but in this context it refers to the Essendon Football Club, also known as the Bombers or the Dons. One of the oldest and most successful teams in the league but has gone through some rough times of late.

Jumper - usuallly a sweater but in this context it refers to a player’s jersey in the AFL

10

Xavier

I’m barely even cognisant of what I’m doing when I reach for him; my brain has pretty much left the building and now my body just seems to be acting of its own accord. And, clearly, my body wants to kiss Trent.

My senses rush back to me a couple of seconds into the kiss, and I hastily step back, stumbling into whoever’s standing behind me in the crowd. I stare at a wide-eyed Trent for a long moment before finally managing to get some words to leave my mouth. “Fuck—shit—sorry. I didn’t mean—” I give a sharp shake of my head. “Fuck.”And before Trent has a chance to say anything back, I turn away and weave my way through the crowded bar, desperately needing some fresh air.

I know it’s a pretty shit move to run away like this; I should have stayed and faced the music. I highly doubt Trent would get aggressive or anything like that, but he has every right to be angry.

“Wow, you move really fast,” I hear Trent say from behind me just as I’m stepping out of the bar and onto the bustling street.

“I’m really sorry, okay?” I say with a brief glance over my shoulder as I start walking aimlessly away from the bar. “I guess I’ve just had a bit to drink. And, I don’t know, maybe I have heat stroke or something…”

He shrugs. “It’s fine. I mean, it wasn’t…bador anything.”

I pause in my step at the mouth of a little alley that backs onto the bar we were just at. Spinning around to face Trent, I throw my hands up in frustration. “Jesus, Trent. You don’t have to be positive abouteverything.You’re allowed to be angry when someone sexually assaults you!”

He arches an eyebrow at me. “I think that’s going a bit far, don’t you reckon? Besides, like I said—it wasn’t bad. I actually…um…kind of liked it.”

I stare at him for a long moment, more bewildered by his sudden attack of bashfulness than his actual words. “Youlikedit?”

He nods. “Yeah. Or…well, I think so. It’s kind of hard to know for sure. It was over really quick. I’m kind of curious though,” he adds with a shy smile.

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