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This was purely physical, with the added benefit of a long friendship.
Get a damn grip, Samantha, before you go and do something stupid, again …
‘You want to get some fresh air?’ she blurted, desperate to make some distance between them.
Watching her dash past him, he said ‘Yeah, righto, sounds good’ to her back as he took long strides to follow her.
Samantha couldn’t get out of the pub, and out of dangerous territory, quick enough. Connor was right beside her as the door slapped shut behind them, and as they made their way over to the parking lot, the music faded away, as did the flashing lights from the front facade. She could suddenly hear the gravel crunching beneath her shoes, and Connor’s breath, given he was walking so closely beside her.
‘Aah, that’s better, I can hear myself think out here.’ She glanced up at the perfect crescent of the silvery moon, backdropped by a canvas of glimmering stars and black velvet sky.
Tipping his head skyward, Connor joined in her all-embracing regard of the stunning sight. ‘Yeah, there’s something to be said for the sound of silence that only the vastness of the country can give you.’
‘So true.’ She sighed, smiling softly. ‘I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed such simple yet remarkable things, until arriving back here.’ She dared a glance in his direction, liking the look of adoration written all over his handsome face. ‘Why are you smiling like that?’ she said, when he just kept gazing at her.
‘I’m thinking, seeing as you’ve only got limited time to enjoy all of this, before heading back to London … ’ He waved wide arms towards the sky. ‘How about we take a breather, and a sit on the back of my LandCruiser, so you can soak up the ambience a little longer before we head back into the madness that’s waiting for us in there.’ He thumbed over his shoulder, towards the pub.
As much as she knew she most probably should, Samantha couldn’t say no. ‘That sounds lovely.’
‘Great,’ he said, clapping his hands to his thighs. ‘Let’s do it.’
Do it? Oh god, the wayward images going through her mind right now.
Reaching his four-wheel drive, he held her hand and helped her up and onto the tray. His touch felt so good, so familiar, so overwhelmingly addictive, she almost said please don’t when he unravelled his fingers from hers. Then in one swift movement, he was sat beside her, their legs swinging in unison and their gazes back towards the sky. Crickets chirped and leaves rustled, the gentle breeze stirred her hair. Tucking it behind her ears, she was just about to ask him how life had been the past decade when her name was bellowed from the shadows.
‘Sammeeeeeee, where are yoooou?’
‘Shea, is that you?’ Samantha squinted into the darkness.
‘Yessss, it’s meeeeee.’ Close now, Shea appeared and skipped towards her, smiling from ear to ear. ‘Everyone is keen to come back to our place for a nightcap.’ Catching her breath as she flopped against the back of the ute, she looked from Samantha to Connor, then back to Samantha, a cheeky grin replacing her gleeful one. ‘Are you two good to go?’
Samantha wasn’t up for a nightcap. She just wanted to go home and go to sleep. ‘Who’s everyone?’ She held back a grimace – only just.
Shea waved an arm back in the general direction of the pub, just as Jack and a couple of his mates staggered into sight. ‘This motley crew.’
‘Hi.’ Samantha gave the group a wave then flashed Connor an oh help us glance, which he returned. ‘How is everyone getting back to your place?’
‘We’ve called the cab. He’ll be here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,’ Shea said before hiccupping, giggling, then snorting. ‘Oh lookie, there he is.’ She spun, wobbled, then pointed down the road. ‘Honey bunny, our ride’s a-comin’,’ she called to Jack.
But Jack was too busy singing along with his three mates at the top of his lungs that he didn’t even hear her.
‘Jack Farley,’ Shea called louder. This time, he heard her. ‘Cab’s here,’ she said in a hilariously stern tone, hands going to her hips.
The incoming beam of headlights of the taxi lit up a pair of kangaroos. Momentarily pausing with curious faces, they bounded off behind a mound of spinifex bushes just as the taxi pulled up.
The old bloke leant on his windowsill and glanced from left to right. ‘How many of you are there, Shea?’
‘Um.’ Shea looked around the group and counted on her fingers. ‘Six.’
‘Sorry, but that’s two too many. I’ll have to do two trips, I’m afraid.’
‘Nah, it’s all good, Johnno.’ Connor jumped down from the back of the ute. ‘I’ve only had a couple of beers, so I’m good to drive.’ He glanced at Samantha. ‘I’ll give you a lift home, and this rowdy lot can grab the taxi, if you like?’
Samantha couldn’t think of anything better right now. ‘That’d be perfect, Connor, thank you.’ She planned to make a quick exit when she got back to the homestead, leaving Shea, Jack and their drunk friends to their afterparty.
CHAPTER
9
