Page 14 of Wild Hearts

I’m stacking my fork and bowl in the dishwasher when the buzzer for the front door sounds. I jump, clutching my now racing heart as my gaze shoots to the front door. Even though I’m expecting Brady and Ivy, I still check the video monitor before buzzing them in. I pace back and forth in my living room as I wait for them. I try to focus on my breathing exercises, but my anxiety is still making my body vibrate when they knock on the door.

I’m not sure I’m ready to go to a party where people are drinking, but I plaster a smile on my face and open the door anyway. Ivy’s eyes nearly pop out of her head as she takes in the space behind me.

“Whoa! This is insane!”

A snort of laughter escapes me and I’m grateful that my voice is steady when I say, “You don’t get out much, do you?”

Brady walks to the sliding door that leads out to my balcony. “She’s right, Rookie. This is a pretty sick apartment. You’ve even got a view of the surf. This is prime real estate.”

I shrug, heat rising up the back of my neck. Being in such a confined space with Brady is making me feel jumpy.We need to get out of here.

“So, Jordan’s?” I say, grabbing my keys and bag off the kitchen bench.

From the moment I shut the door, Ivy doesn’t stop talking. I try to concentrate on the babbling about study sessions, beach hangs and slumber parties. I nod and say “uh huh” in all the right places, but I’m hyper aware of Brady’s body when we cram into the elevator and his arm brushes mine, sending jolts through my body. My cheeks flush and I take a step back, squishing myself into the corner of the tiny space.

The twenty-minute drive feels like an hour, and I force myself into a conversation with Ivy about the people who are coming to the party tonight. It’s all I can do to focus on my friend and try to ignore the way Brady is sneaking looks at me in the rear-view mirror.

I’ve never been to the Rossi’s house before. As we pull up in the driveway, I let out an audible “whoa”. The imposing three-storey Victorian reminds me of a giant dollhouse.

Ivy grins at me. “Pretty impressive, huh?”

A group of pretty girls in short, figure-hugging dresses that leaves very little to the imagination call out to Brady, who instantly glances over at me. Jealousy courses through me, but I grab Ivy’s hand and follow the music out to the backyard, which is somehow even more impressive than the front.

The lap pool is lit up. The massive pool house is decked out like a man cave, complete with a billiard table, a ping pong table, and a giant 82 inch smart TV. It’s playing the RipCurl Pro Tour from last year, with Australia’s own Jack Robinson shredding the surf. My lips tug up at a memory of Jordan and Brady being super pumped to meet him. They hadn’t shut up about it all summer.

There’s an undercover bar set up off the enormous deck making the backyard an entertainer’s dream. The grass-covered area stretches back as far as the eye can see, with a group of people kicking a footy around.

Ivy leads me over to the bar, but I help myself to a bottle of water over alcohol. She raises her eyebrows but doesn’t say anything. There’s no doubt that she’s thinking about all the times we used to sneak out to Glassons Point to get drunk with Lachy and Harley after we turned sixteen. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol in months. I’m terrified of letting my guard down, of putting myself in the situation where someone can take advantage of me... again. I know it wasn’t just alcohol in my system that night, but the memories are too overwhelming for me to take the risk.

“Everything okay?” Ivy asks. “You’ve been kind of... off.”

“I’m fine,” I say, taking a swig of my water. It’s refreshing in this late summer heat. “It’s just been a big day.” I tap my water bottle against her clear plastic cup and offer her a smile. “Cheers to the next four years.”

“To the next four years!” Ivy lets out a small squeal and throws her arm around my shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re here for good.”

Jordan hip checks the both of us as he reaches over the bar to help himself to a drink. “You two done holding up the bar?” He turns us around to face the rest of the yard. “You know there’s a whole party going on out there just waiting for the two hottest peeps in Blue Haven to join them.”

“Ewww, Jordan!” Ivy swats at him. “You did not just call me ‘hot’. I’m practically your sister.”

He snickers. “Relax, junior Willis. I was talking about me and Wren.”

A snort of laughter escapes me. Jordan has always been the biggest flirt. “Nice try, Rossi, but I think you’re gonna have more luck with those half naked girls by the pool.” I nod in the direction of the three bikini clad females sitting by the edge of the water.

Jordan gasps and pretends to pull the fake knife out of his chest. “Oof, you wound me.”

“You’ll live.” I roll my eyes.

“You know I’m not going to give up until you fall madly in love with me,” he says, poking me in the side.

I bat my eyelashes and poke out my bottom lip in a pretend pout. “Why? So, you can break my heart when you move onto the next pretty young thing?”

Lachy comes up behind Ivy, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her neck. “She’s got you there,puttana.”

Jordan smirks. “What can I say? I’m just not ready to settle down yet.”

The group dissolves in laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Brady asks, grabbing a drink of his own from the bar.

---