Page 65 of Trusting the Fall
“Woah, mama!” I say, making her cheeks blush as she waves me away.
“Nice one, Guppy. You clean up like a city girl,” her brother, Dylan, says from where he sits next to me on the couch.
His unruly surfer boy hair is combed back to look more professional. His cream linen button-up is rolled up to his elbows, showing the trident tattoo that takes up the length of his left forearm. With the dress Lex is wearing, you can see the matching one on the back of her shoulder.
“I’m sure that’s a compliment to you, but it may also be why you’re still single.” Lex smiles.
Dylan just smirks. “Should we go?”
“Yep. I’m ready.”
“Where is this fancy meeting happening?” I smile.
Dylan’s up from Killara Bay to meet with the investors that signed on his and Lex’s whiskey brand. They sign the official paperwork tonight, at some event for a new bar opening that will have exclusive rights to a flavour profile Dylan is selling them.
“At High Rollers,” says Dylan.
“At the casino?” Lex asks.
“Yeah.”
“At my place of work?”
“Well, not in Hallucinogens. It’s at the empty theatre just next door. But it’s still High Rollers property.”
“Oh, that must be the project Mr. Huxley had me look into. He wanted to know if the new business came under the casino’s liquor licence.”
Dylan nods. “Yeah, that’s where the whiskey lounge will be. If it does well, they’ll build one at every High Roller casino in Australia.”
“Well, hot damn, big brother. Look at you go,” I say and raise my hand to Dylan for a high five.
He slaps my hand with a smile. “Thanks. I was quite proud of myself for securing that connection, too.”
“Well, we best not be late then.” Lex comes over to kiss my cheek goodbye. “I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”
“I’ll be fine. You guys just enjoy the success of your night. I’ve got a date with Netflix.” I smile.
“See ya, Claire.” Dylan waves and heads towards the door, but Lex doesn’t move. She looks down at me with a concerned gaze.
“Are you okay?”
I look down at the chipped black polish on my nails. “Yeah, just been thinking.”
She takes a seat beside me. “Does it have anything to do with Leif? Your mind’s seemed preoccupied ever since you ran into him on the weekend.”
“Yep, just one of the many places he’s stained with his presence.”
“Stained like a bad thing?” she asks.
“Stained like a permanent thing.”
Lex picks up my hand, clasping it between her deeply tanned ones thanks to the hours she spends at the beach or in our backyard doing all her mind-cleansing yoga.
“I’m not the best at letting people in,” she starts, taking a contemplative breath. “I want to be, but you know why it’s hard for me. The same way I know why it’s hard for you.”
I feel my eyes prickling. I only ever allow myself to be vulnerable with Lex. She has always been there for me in any capacity I needed. So, I don’t take it lightly in those moments when she decides I need a dose of real talk.
“We don’t jump in blindly. We analyse and scrutinise. Probably beyond the point that we should. I know we both hold back to avoid the hurt, but I think sometimes we avoid the opportunity as well. Maybe we should take a chance. If it’s a mistake, then it’s something we learn from, but what if the mistake is not trying in the first place?”
