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10. Ten

Te n

Thomas

I climbed into my ute and gripped the steering wheel. She kissed me . I was going to be a coward and only think about kissing her.

Her lips were soft and when her body pressed against mine, it felt as right as I remembered it did. My hesitation was not warranted. I should have made the first move and next time, I would. Aside from the first half of the date feeling like an investigative interview, I enjoyed my night and the ending to it was even more spot on.

Harper had shown that she was open to getting to know me more, to understand who I was as a person. I’d had a few girlfriends since becoming a professional driver, but they didn’t last long. I think they liked the idea of being in the spotlight on TV, like it added something to their ‘influencer’ brand. But as a boyfriend, I didn’t do much for them. You get what you put into relationships and, to be fair, I didn’t put much into those.

I thought that it could be different with Harper. She was not like anyone else; she challenged me and called me out on my bullshit and that was something that I needed in a partner.

I was getting ahead of myself.

** *

Harper

The music in my earphones echoed around in my head as I stared out the window of the train on my commute to work. Why was it that when you first started liking someone, everything felt more vibrant? Music sounded sweeter, the sky was a brighter blue, and there was a feeling of possibility in the air. Okay, I was getting carried away. That was the problem with having a degree in journalism. I could romanticise anything.

Friday morning at work was fairly uneventful. I was assigned another story that was more like my usual topics, and I ate another uninspired lunch with Meredith in the break room.

Meredith liked to talk in detail at me about her boyfriend, who sounded like an asshole. I had given up trying to advise her on what to do about the man a long time ago. As she sat there, reading out a novel of text chains, I felt my mind wander to Thomas, and wondered what he was up to. I pulled my phone out and sent him a text.

Me: Hey, thanks again for last night. I would love to catch up again soon x Harps.

I hoped that my message was casual enough and focused back on Meredith.

***

Later on, as I read through the second draft of my newest piece, I realised that Thomas had not texted me back, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. How could I have gone from feeling such disdain for him to this? I took my coffee cup to the break room and made an espresso. It was much too late in the afternoon for one, but I had to do something to keep my mind busy. Mindlessly scrolling through social media, I recognised a familiar face on the Echidna Racing page.

“Hey guys, Thomas Henry-Jackson here. Today, we are out at Eastern Creek doing a few showcase laps in the new BMW concept car. Keep an eye out.” His voice sounded sincere, but I could tell by the look on his face that he hated every single moment of being filmed for that. Holly would have had her hands full. A few seconds later, a live icon popped up and Chris Verco appeared on the screen with Will by his side, his usual grinning self.

“Yeah, so today we’re testing out a new concept supercar, which we are very excited to be a part of. Thomas and Will are doing a few test laps and some promotional work, so come along for the ride.” Chris motioned to the camera as he started to walk to the edge of the racetrack. I saw Thomas adjust his helmet and crouch into the compact supercar.

That’s why he hasn’t messaged you. He’s busy , I thought. I closed the live feed down and sighed in relief. I’d seen him on test days, and half the time he didn’t even know where his phone was.

As usual, I called my family that night to catch up on all the gossip for the week. My mum had convinced my dad into a couple’s spa earlier on in the week, and my brothers were both away on exercises so we wouldn’t hear from them for a while.

“We miss you, darling. We are hoping to come and visit you this year, but we’ll let you know,” my dad promised towards the end of our call. I missed my family so much. I really wanted to make an effort to see them more.

As I was getting ready for bed, my phone announced through my earphones that I had an incoming call.

'Thomas Henry-Jackson (Prick)' calling. I answered hesitantly. “Oh, so you do know how to use a phone,” I said, smiling to myself as I imagined him rolling his eyes.

“Give me a break,” he chuckled. “I was driving a concept supercar today and I didn’t even know where my phone was.”

“That’s what they all say.” My reply was flirty, and I found myself changing my posture as I spoke to him, twirling my hair in my hands like a giddy schoolgirl.

After we caught up about the day, I was surprised at how the call ended.

“So, when are you coming out to my house?” Thomas asked out of the blue.

“Is that an invite?” I retorted.

“Come round for lunch Sunday, I’ll cook.” I instantly pictured him in an apron with a pair of tongs in his hands.

“What will it be? Sausage sizzle?”

“Are you capable of answering without sarcasm?”

“Fine sausage sizzle it is, I look forward to it,” I replied and hung up the phone.

I suppose I did answer his question, but I sent him a text message.

Me: What’s your address? Should I bring the onions?

I waited eagerly for his response.

Thomas: Just bring your usual, sassy self

Then he sent through his address. Of course, the first thing I did was look it up online, concluding that he lived so far away I would need a passport to get there.