“Right,” he said, simply dismissing me and turning to his brother. “We better get moving.”
Adam turned to me. “Off the bus, Ellie.”
I stood there for a long moment, looking at him as if he were a stranger.
“Come on, luv, I gotta shut the doors,” said Barry the bus driver.
I was completely dumbfounded, lost for words, humiliated in front of an entire busload of people who were eagerly waiting for my next outburst, one I refused to give as I lifted my chin, gathered my skirt and made my way down the steps with great dignity, even when I heard the doors slam closed behind me.
Don’t cry, Ellie. Don’t. Cry.
Seventeen
I could hear the muffled sound of cheers and hollering behind me. Determined to put as much distance between them and me, I stormed off across the drive, but was stopped to a sudden standstill as a hand gripped around my arm, pulling me up abruptly. My head snapped around, glowering at the hand before lifting up to see Adam’s smiling face.
“Whoa, where are you going, Parker?”
Confused, I looked back to the bus, seeing the animated hordes inside banging on the glass and making kissy-kissy faces. And there, sitting just as dumbfounded as I was Megsy, the very last thing I saw before the bus pulled away from the drive, honking and driving away the Onslow rabble.
“What are you doing?” I asked, tired, emotional, seriously over it.
“Well, if you let me get a bloody word in.”
I immediately went to reply but then thought better of it. Adam seemed expectant of an outburst, lifting his brows and shaking his head. “Always such a bloody hothead.”
“You took me off the bus!” I shouted.
“We’re not going by bus.”
“What?”
Adam sighed, grabbing me by my hand and pulling me behind him down the driveway. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I said, trying to keep up and wincing at the pebbles slipping into my shoes. “You know it’s just as bloody well you got off that bus; I was willing to steal a bike Goonies style and track you down, Adam Henderson.”
Adam laughed, tightening his hold on my hand, dragging me to walk by his side but still holding on in case I decided to flee.
“I wouldn’t dare, you’re bloody scary. I could almost feel the skin melt off my face with that filthy look you were giving me.” Adam shuddered, as if reliving the horror all over again.
Only then did my resolve melt and I could feel a reluctant smile spread across my lips as we made our way, hand in hand, down the steep embankment toward Lake Onslow that was still littered with tourists enjoying the last of the evening sun. I didn’t ask any more questions; Adam was being cryptic so I let him lead me down the hill, almost forgetting that we even had a party to go to, that maybe this would be what it would be like to walk along, holding hands. It made me feel all giddy inside; I had held Adam’s hand lots of times, but that was before I had been swamped by all these confusing feelings.
Adam seemed to become more geared up as we headed toward the pontoon.
“Let me guess,” I mused, as Adam led me out over the boarded walkway.
“You want to arrive in style, don’t you?” Adam threw me a devilish smile over his shoulder as he led me toward the very place I suspected.
We pulled up short in front of Adam’s speed boat, a sleek, sexy-looking beast of a thing that had dragged me around Lake Onslow on skis more times than I could count. Adam let go of my hand, moving to manoeuvre his way onto the boat.
“Still mad?” he asked, all smug as he popped open the lid of an esky, retrieving a Pineapple Vodka Cruiser and holding it up to me.
I laughed, shaking my head. “Why didn’t you just tell me we were heading out this way?”
“Because if I told you not to keep me waiting it would still be eight o’clock by the time we got here. I thought you would be less likely to keep a bus full of people waiting.”
“Says the boy who is perpetually late to everything in life.”
Adam shrugged, twisting off the cap to a Carlton Draught stubby. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
