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“Sebastian… enough with the nicknames.” Gabriella cringes. “I gave you Gabbie, although you know how much I despise it.”
I snicker behind my fork, shoving the expensive seafood into my mouth. The food is good here, surprisingly.
“What’s so funny?” Gabriella asks, placing her fork and knife down. “This I’m-Aussie-so-I’ll-abbreviate-your-name is just downright annoying.”
I’m quick to remind her of her newfound heritage. “But you’re half Australian now, are you not? You need to welcome the traditions with open arms.”
Seb nods in agreement, a sinister smile playing on his lips. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. We need to initiate you. Let’s see… perhaps we should order you the kangaroo.”
Gabriella’s lips curl, her nose wrinkling as she shakes her head. “Kangaroo? You mean people eat kangaroo?”
“C’mon, Sebastian...” Lana exhales. “No one eats kangaroo. They’re cute and carry their baby joeys in their pouch.”
“Australians certainly do. It’s a culinary experience,” Seb informs her.
I bow my head, hiding the smirk plastered on my face.
“How about a shoey,” Seb exclaims, goading a reaction from Gabriella.
“A shoey?”
“You pour a can of beer into a shoe and drink from it.”
Seb is on a roll, the twinkle in his eye gesturing he’s enjoying riling the girls up. The bastard will probably get into a fight tonight with Lana then end up screwing her. Fighting is their foreplay.
“Right.” Lana places her drink down. “Now you’re just making things up.”
I quickly interject, “Preferably someone else’s shoe.”
Gabriella flinches beside me while shaking her head and muttering something beneath her breath which I’m unable to decipher.
“Okay, so you’re not quite the daredevil,” I state matter-of-factly. “How about we just buy you a pair of stubbies and thongs?”
Seb bursts out into a fit of laughter while Lana sits beside him with a confused expression.
Gabriella immediately reaches out for her glass, downing the wine in one go. “I don’t know what a stubby is, but I... um… I have thongs.”
“Au contraire, Gabs,” I sneer, cocking my head to the side. “While I have no doubt you wear American thongs, Australian thongs are on your feet.”
“And stubbies are short shorts,” Seb adds.
“Okay, the two of you can stop now,” Lana warns, letting out a huff of annoyance. “Australian thongs are flip-flops. Why they call them thongs is beyond me.”
“Oh… flip-flops,” Gabriella roars. “Well, then, sign me up. I don’t know about the stubbies, but I’ll give it a try.”
In this fleeting moment, Gabriella looks happy. Her shoulders relax as she eagerly eats her grilled chicken. It could be influenced by the wine, but nevertheless, she’s just as beautiful as I remember her. Maybe even more so.
Lana switches topics and tells us about all the things they did during their trip here and her desire to return. Seb admits they have spent some time house hunting, nothing too big, but something they can stay in with the purpose of jetting back and forth when time permits.
“What about Bubbles?” I ask with a chuckle.
“He’ll have to stay with Lizzie,” Lana says while Seb shakes his head with an annoyed expression. “Like a bunny vacay.”
“The bugger will be spoiled by Lizzie.”
“It’s fine… listen, it’s late, and we need to pack for tomorrow.” Lana gathers Ace’s belongings as Seba offers to pay the bill which I downright refuse. We argue some more until the pretty waitress finally accepts the credit card out of my hand.
“Thanks for dinner, Olly,” Lana and Seb say in unison. “So, I guess we’ll leave you two?”
