Free All At Sea by Pepper Ellison Page B

9.55pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    Can’t come out to the deck, sorry. I’m in the bathroom with your fiancée. She likes to do the bathroom girl-talk thing where we discuss things through the stall wall.
    Do you think he’s acting distant? Why would you say that? His energy is off. There’s something off. Don’t worry, it’s normal jitters, I’m sure.
    We’re horrible people, you and me. Just horrible.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.10pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    You’re really not coming out. Are you coming out? Fark! What’s going on???
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.16pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    I don’t know what to do. I’m standing out here looking like a fcken fruit loop. You’re not going to come out. I can’t go back in there until I know what’s going on.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.18pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    What’s going on is that I’m with Lachie now. It’s nice being around someone who doesn’t make me want to burst into tears or punch a wall when I look at him.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.35pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    Did you just leave? I saw the shuttle car pull up.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.37pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    You just left!
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.40pm
    —near North Shore, HI—
    Back to hang at the club with the rest of the rich kids. I hear there’s a billiards tourney coming up and I need to sharpen mah skillz.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.42pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    I don’t know who you are. You’re like a different person.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 10.45pm
    —Pineapple Pete’s at Coconut Bay Resort—
    It’s after 10:30 and I had to go. It’s not all-ages night and they were about to card everyone who looks young and boot me out the door anyway.
     
     
    Thursday 13 th March 11.47pm
    —North Shore Hostel—
    Fiona’s staying at Coconut Bay and I’ve just come home. It took ages because I had to update Lachie on what’s going on with the guys at home. They wanted to eat. I just pushed food around my plate because I thought I was going to chuck.
    I said I was jet lagged, which I am.
    And you’re right. Fifi knows something’s up. She knew when I walked in. I said I feel sick, which I do.
    Lachie looks happy. He’s all sanguine and content. He’s got a dopey grin.
    Lachie is in love with you.
    So now I am dumping my fiancée and going after my best friend’s girl.
    Is that what I’m doing here?
    I’m going to sit down now and read through all the stuff you sent.
     
    Friday 14 th March 1.12am
    —North Shore Hostel—
    I just read them. I’m sorry. The night at the party I had been drinking and I didn’t want you to be with Lachie. I’ve been pretty consistent about that. But anyway.
    How can I explain it?
    OK. It doesn’t happen so much here, because the water is too warm, but at home, sometimes when I would go surfing first thing in the morning, it was really fricken cold, and it would go all the way through to my bones til I couldn’t feel any more.
    But then when I got out and sat on the sand and the sun would come up, and I’d go all tingly, and pins and needles. My skin would be tight and gritty and salty. Have you had that?
    That’s how I feel after I’ve been with you. Like I was frozen and now every nerve in me is quivering. I know girls like to talk. Talk talk talk, but I don’t need that so much. I don’t want you to think it’s because I don’t want to know more about you. Most of the time I am just buzzing on that sensation all day long without saying anything at all. I don’t want to talk. I just want to sit there and feel like that for as long as it’s going to last.
    Eventually it wears off, and then I go looking for you so I can feel that way again.
    Does Lachie make you feel like that?
    Does he?
     
     
    Friday 14 th