Merry Christmas, everyone! Read and review, please!
Xoxox aussiebabe290
"Ooh, pretty!" Bridget said, once Bec emerged from her bathroom, in a flowy green dress, ending just below her knees. "But I liked the flowery one best".
"Nah, the yellow one", Cassie argued.
"Am I the only one who likes the green one?" Loren asked in disbelief.
Bec had to laugh- she knew it wasn't a proper date, but the girls had insisted on helping her choose a dress to wear. And Bec wasn't going to argue- she didn't have a clue. The three sixteen year olds were lying on her bed, on their stomachs, identical goofy grins on their faces. It was amazing, really- they were totally different in every single way, but at that moment, they looked the same. "Make a choice, I don't have all day".
"The green one!" Loren said quickly.
"Which one do you feel most comfortable in?" Bridget asked practically. "It's pretty important you're comfortable".
"Smart". Bec nodded at her.
"Wear the yellow one. It's the newest and the prettiest", Cassie said.
"Sorry, Loren. The green one is a little too fancy for this- he might actually think it's a date". Bec blushed.
"But do you want it to be a date?" Loren said.
Bec blushed scarlet, matching her pillowcase. "No!" she said firmly.
Loren exploded into giggles. "Sure, sure!"
"Loren!" Bec said.
"Denial!" Cassie, Loren and Bridget sang together.
Bec blushed even redder. "Which dress should I wear? That's all you were supposed to do. Tell me what to wear".
"The flowery one", Bridget said.
"I like that one!" Bec said, grabbing the dress and heading back into the bathroom. "And I absolutely promise it's not a date".
"Hey Bec?" Loren asked. "When's Charley coming back?"
"Hopefully soon", Bec replied, struggling to get out of the green dress. "Can someone unzip me?"
Bridget opened the bathroom door and yanked the zipper down. "Better?"
"Thank you". Bec smiled sweetly at her and waited until the bathroom door was closed before she changed into the flowery dress, one of her favourites. "You know what?"
"What?" the girls called.
"I wore the green dress to my Solar Blue presentation night. Perri, Anna, Fly and I all went dress shopping together- Andrew gave us two hundred bucks each. I fell asleep in Edge's arms wearing that dress, in the middle of the boat club floor. I'm a midget, I swear I don't grow!" Bec complained.
"It's a good thing you didn't wear that dress then", Bridget said. "He'll remember that night as much as you".
"That's really sweet". Loren sighed soppily.
"You're too soft, you know?" Cassie said, poking Loren in the side.
"Hey!" Loren protested.
Bec giggled, and slid her black flats onto her feet. She reached for her makeup bag (something she rarely used) and pulled out the black mascara, that made her hazel eyes stand out. She brushed some over her top eyelashes and then ran around her eyelid with the black eyeliner. She then noticed something that did not make her happy.
"I have a problem!" she called.
"What's the matter?" Cassie asked.
"I look like a ghost".
She had lived on the beach for her entire life, and she never tanned. She never burned, either. A slight dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose was the only colour on her face.
Bridget swung open the door and pounced on a jar of foundation. "Cass, you better do this".
While Bec sat extremely still (not her strong point), Cassie brushed the foundation over her face so she didn't look like a ghost, as she put it.
"You look gorgeous!" Loren said.
"What time's your date?" Garry hollered up the stairs.
"It's not a date!" Bec called back. "Thank you, girls. I'll be back- I don't really know when I'll be back. Don't wait up, okay?"
"Be back by midnight, Cinderella", Cassie teased, as Bec grabbed her bag.
"Out of my room!" she said, pushing them out.
"Bec, you look hot!" Garry said, surprised, as the girls pulled Bec downstairs.
"You sound so shocked", she teased. "I can look girly, you know. Very rarely do I, but I can".
Garry blushed. "Have a nice time on your date".
"It's not a date!" she protested. "Bye!"
Laughing, Garry and the kids waved their farewells. Bec stepped along the beach, wondering what it would be like, eating dinner with Edge again. The last time they had done that was four years ago, at the last ever Solar Blue dinner, right before Edge decided to set up a tent and sleep outside and right before Bec called her parents to arrange to go home for the night. Jilly had cooked, seeing the kids were so worked up over the finals. Spaghetti and meatballs and homemade garlic bread, their favourite- Jilly's cooking was to die for.
She was so caught up in the memories of their past she nearly had a heart attack when her phone rang. "What the he-"
She fished the ringing piece of technology out of her bag. "Hello?"
"Hey sis", Joe said cheerfully.
"Joe, you nearly gave me a stroke!" she complained.
"Nice to hear your voice as well". Joe laughed. "Guess what?"
"I don't have time for guessing games, Joe; I'm running a little late".
"Edge is back in town!"
"I know".
"Oooh! That's where you're late to! A date with the ex!" Bec could tell he was frowning. "Wait, did you two ever officially break up? I don't remember hearing anything about a breakup... Anna! Did Edge and Bec ever break up? Anna?"
"Joe, enough! Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Bec was not amused. "Seriously, I don't have time for this!"
"No, that was just something I thought of. Sorry! What was I going to tell you?"
"How in the name of all that is holy am I supposed to know?" Bec sounded annoyed. "You, boy, are an idiot".
"I remember!" Joe sounded excited.
Bec sighed. "Make it quick, Joe".
"Anna and I set the date for our wedding! January sixteenth- the day after Ben's birthday".
"Congratulations!" Bec was thrilled for her brother. Then she thought it over. "You forgot that you set the date for your own wedding?"
"It simply slipped my mind. I didn't forget- I'd never forget. Why would I forget the date of my own wedding? Oh, hey Anna. No, seriously, I'm joking! Anna, I promise I'm joking- I couldn't forget!"
"Hi Anna!" Bec called.
"Hi Bec!" Anna called back, her German accent shining through. "Tell Edge we say hello!"
"I will!"
"Tell me how the date goes", Joe said- Bec could tell he was smiling.
"Joe Sanderson, you are worse than the girls!" she accused. "It's not a date!"
"Sure it is".
"Goodbye".
Bec threw her phone back into her bag and continued towards the boat club, butterflies in her stomach. The flappers she had in there were worse than the ones she'd had on the night of the Solar Blue announcement.
"Bec!" Edge called. "Hey!"
"Hi", she said shortly.
"How are you?" he smiled genuinely.
Bec nearly melted. "Good thanks. How are you?"
STOP IT, Bec! You don't like him! It's not a date! Just a dinner. Two old friends catching up. You've done this before, just chill.
"I'm fine. Come on", he said, taking her hand.
She kept her hands by her side. "I'm coming. So how have you been?"
"Pretty good. Busy on the circuit and all that". He grinned. "What about you, Miss Head of Solar Blue?"
"Busy running Solar Blue and all that". She grinned cheekily. "It's an awesome job".
"The blonde that answered the door the other day..."
"Yeah, um. Sorry about that". Bec blushed.
"No, it's cool. She reminded me a bit of Perri".
"Bridget? Our Bridget?" Bec asked in disbelief. "Perri? I thought she was more like Anna, personally. She's our Sunshine Coast fairy princess- we all love Bridget".
"How many kids are there this year?" he asked interestedly.
"Six- three girls and three boys- but one has temporarily left us due to glandular fever", she explained. "Loren, Cassie and Bridget are our girls, and the boys are Adam, Guy and Charley- although he's in Perth".
Edge nodded with a smile, leading Bec to a table. He pulled her chair out, and she blushed profusely.
"As a friend", he assured her. "Promise. So how's Garry?"
"He's good. He's an awesome coach; he's taught the kids so much. Loren, for example, has corrected her stature, and Cassie leans in a bit more. It's so different from the beginning of the year". Bec smiled. "The kids remind me so much of the ones in our year, you know? Charley is exactly like you, in every way. Guy's a carbon copy of Heath, a real joker. He's charming and you just can't help liking him. Bridget is like Anna, determined to win. She's got potential and if she tries hard enough, she might just make the circuit. Loren is exactly like Fly, all over. Cassie, as much as I hate to admit it, is exactly like me. She's accident prone and gets fired up easily. Adam is as cool as a cucumber, just like Matt. A volcano could erupt next door and he wouldn't bat an eyelid. And there's no Deb or Jilly or Simmo- just me and Garry".
Edge smiled.
Bec was in shock- how come the conversation could flow so easy? When they were at Solar Blue all they talked about was their futures, and even that had its limits.
"Do you still have the scrapbook Heath made us?" she wanted to know.
"Are you kidding? I take that everywhere with me". His face lit up when he smile, his piercing blue eyes shining into her hazel ones. "I've missed you, Bec".
"I've missed you too". She quickly looked down at her glass of water, twirling the straw around thoughtfully.
NO! Bec! Stop it! You can't fall for him! Not again! You aren't sixteen anymore, you'll get your heart broken! AGAIN. Why don't you ever listen? Don't fall for it! This is NOT a date- what would the girls say if they saw you now? Scrap that, they'd be too busy with the camera. You can't let this turn into a date. Which is what you are doing. He'll break your heart- okay then, fall for him. I don't even care. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
After dinner and dessert (they both had chocolate mud cake, which was their favourite dessert when they were dating. And just like she had when they were dating, Bec didn't finish hers), they went for a walk on the beach.
"So", Edge said. "How come you came back to Solar Blue? When we left you seemed glad to be out of there".
"Because you won and I didn't. I loved Solar Blue, it was the best year of my life. I was so upset. But I went to uni. I got over it. And whadaya know, I'm back!" she giggled slightly and then shivered. In her hurry to see Edge she had completely forgotten a jumped. Edge shrugged off his and wrapped it around her shoulders, encasing her in warmth.
"Bec?" Edge ventured.
Bec looked up at him. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry".
"It's okay", she whispered.
He kissed her lips gently, and Bec nearly melted. She kissed back, leaning on him for support- her legs felt like jelly and the last thing she wanted to do was collapse.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! Rebecca Louise Sanderson, what are you doing? YOU ARE NOT SIXTEEN ANY MORE! You can't do this! Think of the kids! He'll break your heart again and you'll spend another three months hiding away from the world! Think of Garry! He gets nervous just taking the kids for a drive in the mini van without you! What's he gonna do for three months? Fine then. Don't listen to me. But don't say I didn't warn you! THINK OF THE KIDS!!!!
