Happy New Year to you all! It's going to be a big year with all I have planned. Finding the time for the books I have in the pipeline is going to be the tricky part.
Have you been wondering what happens next with Cassie? Read on to find out.
I woke far earlier than I wanted to the
next day, driven by habit – also by the dogs whining at the front door. I tried
to remember if I let them in last night, but couldn’t.
Shuffling past the lounge room I saw
Mark still asleep on the mattress, his body flung out in childhood abandon.
Matt was asleep also, his body arranged in a similar fashion. I smiled at the
sight, he looked young and vulnerable in deep sleep.
The dogs greeted me excitedly when I
opened the front door, barreling past me into the kitchen. I shushed them even
as I tried to remember if I had let them outside last night or if I had failed
to let them back in earlier. I could remember Matt saying he fed them, so perhaps
he let them outside after that.
Shrugging, I let it go. The dogs were
fine, it didn’t matter if the routine was not exactly what it usually was. I
poured myself a glass of juice, looked at the canine exuberance on display and
decided a walk was in order. Pebbles and BamBam seemed thrilled that Barney had
spent the night, but instead of the additional dog giving them more exercise it
seemed to have increased the energy levels of all three.
Neither Mark nor Matt had moved when I
checked on them so I decided to leave them sleep. Outside it was another
beautiful summer morning, this first morning of the new year. I paused in the garden,
sniffing the air in pleasure. The breeze had stirred up a cocktail of floral
scents that delighted my nose and made me glad to be up and about.
The dogs weren’t interested in floral
scents however, all three pulling at their leads with impatience. They wanted
to get to the park where they could sniff far more exciting scents like other
dogs and cats. Maybe they would find that elite aroma of dead cane toad.
The park was deserted, not surprising
on New Year’s Day. In fact the whole area was so silent it was easy to imagine
myself as the only person alive. I let the dogs off their leads and threw the
ball for them. At least this way the still got adequate exercise, even if I
lacked the energy to run, or even walk much.
After half an hour of play I headed
back home, three happy pooches trotting along beside me. At the edge of the
park I paused to attach their leads as I could hear a car approaching. When I
looked up I was astonished to see it was Saffron. She was on her own which
meant that Ben must have come home at some point during the evening.
She waved at me and drove on, parking
outside my house and waiting on the footpath for me. One eyebrow was raised,
presumably at the presence of Barney, but she said nothing. I tried to study
her expression surreptitiously, searching for a reason for this early morning
visit but could see nothing.
“Good morning! I tried to call but when
you didn’t answer I figured you’d be out with the dogs.”
“I could have been still asleep.”
Both eyebrows raised at this. “Possibly,
except that I can’t remember the last time you slept late – concussion excepted.”
“You have a point. Tea?”
“Please.”
I let the dogs off their leads in the
front yard and watched them race over to the pond to drink. Shaking my head –
there was a bucket of clean water provided for them both at the front and the
back of the house – I preceded Saffron through the front door and into the
kitchen.
“You’re up early Saffie. I didn’t think
I’d see you for hours yet.” I put the kettle on as I talked and began spooning
tea into the pot.
“Yeah, well, Ben staggered home around
3am and I couldn’t sleep after that.”
I turned to face her, watching her rub
her eyes in a gesture of weariness. “Staggered as in he walked home?”
“Yep, from his mate’s place across
town. He said he wanted to ring in the new year with me. Then he passed out on
the bed and started snoring loud enough to wake the dead.”
“Well, at least you were at the top of
his mind.”
Saffron shrugged. “I guess. But Cassie,
surely if I was at the top of his mind he would have stayed last night. He would
have been next to me at midnight, not at his mate’s place.”
As I was searching for a reply Matt
wandered into the kitchen, his hair on end, his face rumpled, and wearing only
the boxer shorts he slept in. I had never seen anything so sexy.
He paused in the action of running his
hand through his hair when he saw Saffron. “Hi Saffron, fall out of bed?”
Saffron was staring at him like he’d
grown a tail. She switched her gaze to me, her expression almost shocked. I
looked from her to Matt and back again.
“What?”
She cleared her throat. “Something you
want to tell me?”
Comprehension dawned on both of us at the
same time.
“Sadly no…”
“Of course not!”
I looked at Matt. “Sadly no? It was
your idea!”
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t want it, you
know that Cassie.”
He stared at me, an intense stare that
captured my gaze and would not let me go. There was a wealth of meaning in his
eyes, meaning that I couldn’t interpret but that had me feeling weak at the
knees even from across the kitchen.
“Ah, kids, you’re not alone.”
It broke the spell and I looked again
at Saffron who was now studying both of us with fascination. “So something went
on after I left. Spill.”
Realising that of course she knew
nothing of what transpired with Nathan I filled her in while I finished making
the tea. Matt pulled out some muffins, and put bread in the toaster.
“And so Matt stayed here in case
Nathan came back, which he didn’t.”
Saffron was wide eyed by the time I finished my narrative.
“And then?”
“And then what?”
“And then what else happened?”
Catching onto her meaning I blushed. “Nothing Saffie, really you
need to stop reading those romance novels.”
At my words Matt turned a scorching gaze on me and I blushed
deeper. Flustered, I poured the tea and set a cup down in front of Saffron
before going to the fridge to get the butter. Matt had the same idea and our
hands touched as we both reached for the door. Instead of pulling his hand away
Matt took mine and raised it to his lips. Then he looked at Saffron who was
still wide eyed but for another reason now.
“No, really Saffron. Nothing happened. I slept in the lounge on a
mattress. Mark is still asleep in there.”
She groaned in frustration. “You two are like one of those
interminable soap operas. Nothing happens from episode to episode but it keeps
on hinting at it. Tell me you kissed, properly. Tell me that at least.”
At her words my mind flashed to the kisses we had shared. My
blush, which had started to fade, flooded my entire body with a rosy hue.
“It’s hot in here, don’t you think it’s hot? I’ll turn on the fan.”
I hurried to the far wall to turn on the ceiling fan. Saffron
watched me, a grin of delight on her face.
“You did! Finally, you kissed! How was it?”
“Saffron! Matt’s still here!”
Matt sat down at the table, smug male satisfaction practically
oozing from every pore. “Yes Cassie, do tell. How was it?”
I glared at them. “You’re impossible, both of you.”
Saffron laughed, and winked at Matt who was staring at me, grinning.
I couldn’t help but smile back at them.
Before anything else was said Mark wandered in, heading straight
for the fridge. He didn’t bat an eye to see both Saffron and Matt sitting at the
table, instead his eyes were focused on the toast that chose that moment to pop
out of the toaster.
“Can I have that?”
“Of course.” I got up to put more bread in, but Matt beat me to
it, putting the toast on a plate for Mark and handing him a glass for juice. He
slid two more pieces into the toaster and sat back down. Mark grabbed the vegemite
from the pantry and sat down as well. Saffron looked around at us all.
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