Just in case you hadn’t heard, I’ve started the sequel and it can be found on the link on this page.

Thanks for reading :)

Chapter one

Budgewoi. What a cute little town, nice and quiet and perfect for a woman trying to raise her children by herself. Welcome to my life. I’m 27 years old, a divorced mum of six-year-old twins, a son Max and a daughter Lilly. My fairytale high school romance didn’t work out for me just like 83 % of cases according to statistics. I should have listened to the odds!

We have just moved to this quiet central New South Wales suburb to escape my past. I’ve left my family behind in Queensland to avoid my stalker ex-husband. The hardest part was not being able to tell my parents where I am. We still talk but only on the mobile phone so that they can’t trace the phone number. It’s not their fault and they understand why it has to be like this. But the less people who know where we live, the better. Right now, that’s a whole four people; my kids and I, and the real estate agent that I leased our home from.

The kids have been going to the local primary school for the past couple of days and today is their first trip there by bus. My son Max assures me that he is old enough to look after Lilly and himself and insisted on being treated like a “big-boy” and be allowed to catch the bus. Max took on the role of my protector when we moved and he tends to take it very seriously. I really don’t want to disappoint him but I don’t want him to grow up before his time. So I agreed to a trial run of a week to see if they like it or not. Today, Wednesday, is their first trial day.

We rush through breakfast and packing school bags, getting dressed and brushing teeth. The bus will pull up at the corner about 500 meters down the road at precisely 8.16am. Over the sound of the television I can hear cars going up and down the street already. I glance to the clock and see that it’s just after 8 already. Must be the neighbours heading to work. I hear a car pull up next door and the music is so loud that I can hear it over the blaring television. Must have teenagers next door, I decide.

8.06am and I have the kids out the front door and hurriedly walking to the corner as fast as we can manage it. Thankfully we arrive with 2 minutes to spare before the bus arrives. After meeting the bus driver and saying goodbye, I turn and head for home. This time though, I take the time to look at my surroundings. There are some beautiful houses in the street and for the most part, it’s very quiet too.

As I near my new home, I see a man standing out the front of the neighbour’s house. He smiles at me as I walk up the sidewalk towards him. As I approach he holds out his hand and says, “Hi there, you must be our new neighbour. I’m Tom.” As I shake his hand I say, “hi, I’m Elle, it’s nice to meet you.

“I hope my son and his mates didn’t wake you this morning with their loud music. I try to make sure they keep the noise down but they just don’t seem to hear me when I say that.”

Shaking my head I say, “no they didn’t wake me. I have two young children so I was up anyhow, probably before them actually.”

Laughing Tom tells me about his sons. “Bradie is the one who was making all the noise this morning with his mates. Andy is probably still in bed. I usually don’t see him until lunch time”.  As he is speaking, a lady holding a small child and a young guy wander over towards us.

Tom turns his head and smiles. “Speak of the devil,” he says. “Bradie, Sarah, this is our new neighbour Elle”. They both smile at me and Bradie holds out his hand for me to shake. Now I have to say, at this point I was holding back my inner fan girl for all I was worth. “Holy shit, this is Bradie Webb!”  I was thinking to myself.

I look down at his hand and politely take it and smile at him. “Pleased to meet you both” I say, hoping my voice and hand aren’t both shaking. Sarah smiles at me and says “and this little guy is Chris”. The little boy shyly hides his face in his mum’s shoulder.

“Hello Chris” I say to the little cherub. He looks at me with one eye and gives a little grin before hiding his face once more. “Oh he is so cute. I remember when my two were that little” I say to Sarah.

“So you have children then Elle?”

“Oh yeah, I have twins who are six years old. I was lucky that I had a boy and a girl. They get along with each other really well and rarely fight.”

Bradie gave a smirk and said, “Wish I could say the same”.

“Come on guys, lets leave Elle to get settled in” said Tom as he grabbed Sarah and headed to their house.

I smiled and said “bye guys, nice to have met you all”.

I turned and headed into the house to start my unpacking, but not before having a silent fan girl squeal! I was living next to Bradie and Andy from Short Stack!

Chapter two

The morning went by pretty quickly. I was unpacking the kitchen boxes and singing at the top of my lungs with my headphones on. At one point I thought I heard someone knocking on the door but after I took my headphones off I couldn’t hear anyone there so I continued unpacking. Around lunchtime I decided to crank up the stereo instead, figuring the household next door would be awake by now. I set the play list to random and turned up the volume.

Half way through a Green Day song I distinctly heard a knock on the front door. Turning down the music and wiping the sweat from my forehead I head to the front door and open it. Shit. Andy Clemmensen was standing on my doorstep. I was covered in grime and sweat. Not my best moment.

“Hi there. What can I do for you?” I asked him, trying with all my might to sound relaxed and casual.

“Hi I’m Andy and I live next door. I think you met my Mum and Dad and brothers this morning?”

“Yeah I did. Your brother is such a cutie,” I say to him with a smile.

“I hope you’re talking about Chris,” replies Andy, smirking at me.

“Oh yeah, him too” I say. “My name’s Elle. What can I help you with?”

“Oh, yeah, well my baby brother is going to have his nap pretty shortly and I was wondering if you could turn your music down perhaps?”

How cute. Andy is looking out for his baby bro! “No problems, I can do that. Does he normally nap around lunchtime?”

“Yeah he does actually. Why is that?”

“I remember how hard it was to try to get a toddler to sleep. I’ll make sure that I’m not making much noise around his nap time.”

“Wow, thanks so much for that. Mum is heading out soon and everyone else is already gone so I’m left baby-sitting for the afternoon. I was going to try to catch up on some computer work if I could get Chris to have a long nap,” said Andy.

“That’s no dramas at all. I was actually going to ask your mum this morning if she wanted to bring Chris over to play with my two kids when they get home from school today. They’re only six and adore little kids. They had to leave behind their two cousins when we moved so I’m sure they would just love Chris.”

“That sounds like a great idea Elle. How about we come over at around four o’clock?”

Smiling I say, “That would be great. If you haven’t finished your work you can always leave him here to play, if you like. Or you could bring your work with you. I don’t mind at all.”

“I’ll see how much I get done whilst he has his nap. But I will definitely see you after four okay? I have to go, mum will be waiting on me so she can go.”

“Nice meeting you Andy, I’ll see you this afternoon then.”

“Bye Elle”, says Andy with a wave as he heads back to his house.

Crap. I have a play date with Andy Clemmensen this afternoon. Get to cleaning girl!

Chapter three

At 3.30pm I head down to the bus stop to get Max and Lilly off the bus. I’ve missed them today but thankfully the day has flown by. I managed to get the kitchen and living room unpacked and set up to how I like. I even managed to sneak in a shower and put some clean clothes on.

3.40pm and the bus is late. I’m starting to panic thinking that something has happened to it but just as I feel the anxiety start to creep up on me, the bus makes it’s way around the corner and heads to the stop.

Max and Lilly come bounding off the bus and hug me with a force that nearly knocks me over. “How was your bus ride?” I ask them.

“Oh Mum it was excellent. Denise, the bus driver, let me sit up front and even let me open the doors sometimes,” says Max full of excitement.

“How about you Lilly? Did you get a turn on the doors sweetie?”

“Not today Mum. Denise said I can have a turn tomorrow afternoon on the way home” replies Lilly.

“So did you enjoy the bus ride though Lilly?” I ask her.

She simply smiles and nods her head. I made a mental note to ask her about it later on. I grab their hands and we start the walk back to the house. On the way home I tell them about our new neighbours and how their little brother is coming over to play this afternoon. Max and Lilly’s faces light up at the mention of the play date.

After we get home and unpack the school bags, I send Max and Lilly to wash their hands and get changed into some old clothes whilst I make them an afternoon snack.

At a little after 4 pm a knock comes from the front door. Max and Lilly raced to get there first with Max winning. He opens the door to find Andy and Bradie who is holding little Chris. I see Lilly’s eyes widen as recognition sets it. I silently beg her not to say anything and when she turns and looks at my face, I am pretty sure she understands the pleading look I’m giving her.

My son, however, is another matter entirely.

“Oh wow! You’re Short Stack aren’t you?” he yells in his excitement. Before I hide my embarrassment I catch the grins on the guys faces.

“Well yeah, he is short but he’s only a toddler and he’s got plenty of time yet to grow,” says Bradie with a huge smile on his face.

“Max! Mind your manners please,” I beg him.

“I’m so sorry guys. Max, Lilly, this is Andy and Bradie and this little cutie here is Chris,” I say as I reach over and tickle him under the chin.

“How come he’s the cutie?” I hear Andy mutter under his breath.

“Come on in guys. Excuse the mess but I’m still in the process of unpacking” I say over my shoulder as I lead them into the kitchen.

”Do you guys want a drink or something to eat maybe?”

Bradie looks at Andy and says “no thanks Elle, we’re fine.”

“How about we take the kids out the back yard and they can play in the sand pit for a while?” I ask them.

“Sounds good,” says Andy.

I turn and lead them through the kitchen to the back door and out to the outdoor setting I have set up under the veranda next to the sand pit. Bradie puts Chris down and he follows Max and Lilly to the sand pit to play with the trucks. 

Before I sit down I ask the guys again if they want something to drink whilst pointing to the beer fridge I have outside. I can actually see Andy’s eyes sparkle when he realises what I’m pointing to.

“Um, oh, okay, I’ll have a beer if it’s not too much trouble please,” he says, looking a bit sheepish. Bradie glances at him at shakes his head. “Andy, seriously, it’s only Wednesday. Not to mention you’ve probably only been awake for two hours,” says Bradie, nudging Andy’s shoulder with his own.

As I make my way to the fridge I smile to myself. “I got up at eleven today thank you very much. Elle here can even verify that for me, can’t you Elle?” asks Andy.

“Well he did make an appearance here just after midday so I know he was up by then” I say as I grab a can of Diet Coke and hold it up for Bradie to see. He nods his head and I grab another one and a bottle of Stella Artois. “I’m sorry Andy but all I have is Stella. Is that okay?”

He grins and says “yeah that will be perfect, thanks.”

I grab the bottle opener off the top of the fridge and pop the top on the bottle before going back to the table to hand out the drinks and have a seat.

“So Elle, where abouts are you from?” asks Andy.

I open my can of drink and have a mouthful, trying to decide if I want to tell the truth about my past and how much of that I want known. Finally I decide a little bit of a diversion might work.

“Um, well I’m from Queensland actually, a little country town that’s in the middle of nowhere. Did you manage to get your work done Andy?” I ask him, hoping he’ll start talking about that instead.

“Oh yeah,” he says whilst glancing at Bradie.

“What work?” asks Bradie with a gleam in his eye. “You were working were you? Wow, I hope someone got a photo of that!”

“Funny bugger aren’t ya? I was actually working on the next Short Stack TV episode thankyou!” said Andy.

“Oh finally. You’ve made us wait long enough don’t you think” I say to Andy before realising, too late, that I’ve slipped up. I’m blushing a lovely shade of red and the glow from Andy and Bradie’s big toothy grins is making it worse.

“So Elle. You’re a fan are you?” Andy asks with his cocky grin in place.

I put my head down on the table in front of me to try to calm my embarrassment at being caught out. Just at that moment, Lilly decides to come and say hello but from the look on her face, I’m guessing she heard the last part of that conversation.

“Oh Mum’s a huge fan! She really wanted to go to your concert last year but Dad wouldn’t let her. He said she wasn’t suppose to be doing things like that at her age,” says Lilly.

“Okay Lilly, that’s enough thanks. How about you go and get a drink of water for you and Max and Chris hey?” I say to her in the hope she’ll understand that this is a grown up subject, and not one for a six year old to be telling near-strangers.

She nods and head in to the kitchen to get the drinks. I sheepishly look up at the guys. They are both looking a little bewildered actually and it makes me wonder what it is that they don’t understand.

“What?” I say to them.

“Um Elle, how old are you?” asks Andy.

“Andy! You don’t ask a woman her age you douche!” says Bradie whilst slapping his arm.

“Ah, it’s okay Bradie. I’m twenty-seven actually. My birthday was a couple of weeks ago,” I reply.

I can sense the tension and realise they are both itching to ask me something.

“Okay, ask away, I can see something is bothering you both” I say to them.

Andy looks at Bradie and says, “you ask!”

“Um, don’t think of us as nosey or rude or anything but where is Max and Lilly’s dad?” asks Bradie.

I take a deep breath because I knew this was what they were going to ask.

“Well, at the moment, I don’t actually know. We divorced a couple of months ago and I have full custody of the kids. It was a bit of a bad situation so I’ve basically packed up the kids and I and moved interstate to get away from it all. Needless to say, no one knows exactly where I live now, not even my parents.” I sigh as I think to myself that I hadn’t given out any information that I wouldn’t want them to know. I didn’t tell them what the bad situation was or exactly where I was from.

I can see I’ve given them enough to think about because they are both suddenly thirst and interested in what Max and Chris are making.  Neither of them will make eye contact with me and I start thinking to myself that maybe I shouldn’t have said all that. It’s obviously made them uncomfortable and I might have just lost the first couple of friends I’ve had in ten years.

I hear my mobile phone ringing in the kitchen and excuse myself to go answer it. Just as I reach it the phone stops. Unknown number shows on the call log and there is no voice mail. Knowing my parent’s number is silent and shows as unknown, I assume it’s them and they’ll ring back later. I turn and look out the kitchen window at two thirds of Short Stack sitting on my back patio. I really hope I haven’t lost them as friends.

Chapter four.

Standing at the sink I look at the boys. They have their heads together, deep in conversation with a hell of a lot of hand gestures. I decide to play the good host role and grab a bowl and bag of pretzels from the cupboard and head back outside to the guys and kids.

Bradie now has his phone to his ear and he’s talking. “Yeah, we’re next door” he says. I look at Andy and he points to Bradie and mouths “Shaun”. I nod my head and pour the pretzels in the bowl and push it towards him. He plunges his hand in and gives me a wink and a smirk.

“No, not Mrs Taylor’s house you twit, the other side. Yes. No, a nice young lady moved in last weekend and Chris has a play date with her kids.” I smile at Bradie and he gives me a grin. “No, I’m sure it’s okay. Hang on, I’ll just ask her.” Bradie puts his hand over the phone and turns to me “is it okay if Shaun and Shannon come over?” I nod my head whilst taking a sip of my drink. “Yeah, she says it’s fine. Yep, okay I’ll meet you out front in a minute. Okay, bye.”

Bradie looks at me and says, “I’ll just go out and get them.”

“No probs Bradie, you know the way. And no snooping at my photos okay!” I say jokingly to him. He gives me a smile and a nod and heads back through the house to the front door.

I turn to Andy and smile. He looks like he wants to say something to me so I decide to help him along. “What’s up Andy?”

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “I just wanted to say sorry for the interrogation earlier. We didn’t mean to pry, really. We were just curious I guess.”

I’m watching Max and Chris build a moat around the castle they made whilst Lilly is slowly filling it with water from a bucket. I turn back to him and give him a shy smile. “It’s okay Andy, really. It’s just not something that I want to talk about with some of the members of Short Stack.”

He laughs at me and says, “I hope you think of us as friends rather than “the musicians that live next door!””

“Thanks Andy. I’d really love it if we were friends. It’s been way too long in between for me.” I pause and glance at him. He smiling at me and I can’t help but smile back. I feel like I’m caught in a trance. Deciding to break this spell he’s put on me I subtly change the subject.

“So now that we’ve established that I’m your newest friend, when do I get to see this Short Stack TV episode that you’ve been working on?”

I’m rewarded with his beautiful grin. “Why don’t you bring the kids over tomorrow after school and I can show you then?”

“That sounds like a good plan” I reply.

I hear the distinct sound of footsteps and voices come trooping through the house.

“Hey Elle. This is Shaun and Shannon,” says Bradie pointing over his should as he comes through the door.

I stand up and offer my hand to Shaun first and then Shannon. “It’s nice to meet you both” I say to them. I spot Max’s head swing around and see that he’s noticed his idol. Oh no, here it comes.

“It’s Shaun!” he yells at the top of his voice, scaring Chris in the process. Bradie jumps up to calm Chris and Shaun wanders towards Max. “Hey little guy, what’s your name?”

“Max”, says my son proudly holding out his hand. Shaun takes it and gives him an exaggerated hand shake. He turns towards Lilly and smiles at her. “And who’s this pretty little lady?” he asks. Lilly shyly smiles and says very quietly “my name is Lilly” whilst holding out her hand. Shaun takes it and gives her a little kiss on the back of the hand. She blushes a rosy pink and looks at me. “Wow, you look just like your mum,” says Shaun. “Yes, but she’s prettier than me” says Lilly.

Now it’s my turn to blush as four sets of male eyes turn and look at me. From behind me Andy says, “You’re both very pretty.” I blush again and head to the fridge. “Would anyone like a beer or a soft drink?” I ask them all, working distraction to my favour again. The boys all give their drink orders and take a seat. I pass the beers to the boys and another soft drink to Bradie. “Help yourself to pretzels guys”, I say, which is really quite pointless when I realise they all have a handful each. Only Bradie looks guilty though, which makes me smile.

Looking at my watch I notice it’s after 5.30pm. “Can you guys excuse me for a minute? I just need to make a phone call.”

They all smile and say “sure thing” whilst I head inside. I grab my phone off the bench and call Mum and Dad whilst looking in the fridge for something for dinner. Mum answers on the third ring and she asks me about my day. I tell her all about the kids and the neighbours but withhold the fact that they are famous on the music scene. I ask her about her earlier phone call but she says she didn’t ring. She puts dad on the phone and I am about to launch into a description of my day when Bradie walks into the kitchen with Chris on his hip.

I excuse myself from dad and cover the phone with my hand. “I’m just taking Chris home so mum can feed him and bath him okay? I’ll be back in a minute.”

I nod at him and start to ask dad about the phone call this afternoon. He too knows nothing about it.  We talk for a little while longer and as I’m hanging up Bradie reappears in the kitchen.

”Everything okay” he asks me. “Yeah, it’s all good” I reply.  I follow him out the back to the other guys and flick the light on as I walk past the switch. The guys are heavy in discussion about the weekend and the 21^st birthday party they are all going to.

Shannon turns to me and says “hey Elle, why don’t you come along too?” Andy and Bradie have a snigger to themselves as I point at my children who are both now covered in sand.

“Max, Lilly, can you two go inside and run a bath please?” They both nod their heads and head inside trailing a line of sand behind them.

Shannon shakes his head and says, “sorry, I wasn’t thinking there.”

”It’s okay Shannon. I’m rather used to missing out on such things” I reply.

“Well that’s going to change very soon I think,” says Andy beside me. I smile at him and say, “are you my fairy godmother?” Shaun starts laughing and says, “Dude, she just called you a fairy!” Everyone cracks up as Andy turns to me with a hurt look on his face. “Do you think I’m a fairy?” he asks me. I put my hand on his arm and say “well you are a pretty fairy with great hair, if you really are my fairy godmother” I say with a wink so he knows I’m playing with him. “So long as you think I’m pretty, I can live with that,” he says.

Suddenly thinking how I don’t want this night to end I decide to ask the guys what are they doing for dinner. “Do you want to stay and have something to eat?” I ask. They all start to shake their heads and start spilling out reasons which include a date, a meeting and pre-arranged dinner with the folks.

I smile and say “some other time guys.” They nod and Shaun and Shannon stand to say their goodbyes. “It was great to meet you both” I say and give them a wave as they leave through the house.

“We better be heading home too” says Bradie as he stands. Andy groans and stands as well. “Hey, do you want to stay for dinner tomorrow night after the kids play time? I’ll even cook,” says Andy. Bradie’s eyebrows disappear beneath his hair as he looks at Andy. “What? You’re cooking?” asks Bradie.

“Yeah, Why? I can cook,” says Andy defiantly. “Okay then, this I have to see,” says Bradie as he turns and gives me a hug.

“Thanks for having us over. It was a great afternoon that we will definitely be repeating sometime soon!” Ah Bradie is such a sweetie. I turn and give him a huge hug and say thank you.

Andy suddenly pushes him out of the way saying, “Quit hogging the hugging Bradie!” I’m suddenly in a bear hug with Andy Clemmensen. This I didn’t see coming! “Okay Andy, calm down. You’re squeezing the crap out of me here!”

Andy releases me and takes a step back. “Sorry Elle. I got a bit green-eyed there and got carried away.” I smile at him and tell him it’s fine.

“So will I see you both tomorrow then?”

“Count on it, I have to see what Andy’s cooking!” says Bradie. I walk them both to the front door and say goodbye as I hear Max yell out to me. I give them a wave and lock the front door behind them. Leaning against it for a moment, I wonder to myself whether Andy really can cook. God I hope he can!

Chapter five

I got through our morning routine with the kids and get them ready for school. Lilly is so excited about operating the doors this afternoon on the bus. She has a huge grin on her face and is humming to herself constantly. I grab them both and lead them out the front door to make our way to the bus stop.

We pass by the Webb residence and Tom is out the front getting in his car. He gives me a wave and yells out “morning” to us all. The kids and I wave back and keep on walking. Several cars are passing us by on their way to work. Max suddenly drops my hand and points at a white car passing us by. “Mum, that’s Shaun!”

I look up at the passing car and sure enough, Shaun is passing by and waving at us all. We give him a wave and finally get to the bus stop. Whilst we are waiting for the bus Lilly turns to me and says “Mum, are we going to play with Chris again today?”

“Yes sweetie, we are going over there after school and Andy’s going to make us all dinner I think” I reply to her. The instant glow on her face warms my heart as I realise that she misses her cousins so much. Having Chris next door to play with will do her the world of good. I’ve noticed of late that she has been retreating into her shell again. Poor kid, got that personality trait from me. I mentally apologise to her as the bus pulls up. With a wave to Denise and kisses blown to the kids, I head back home.

Shaun is out the front with Bradie and they both say “morning” as I approach them.

“How are you guys this morning then?” I ask them both.

“Yeah good Elle, how are you?” asks Bradie.

“Fine, off to do some job seeking actually. What about you guys? What are your plans for the day?”

Shaun turns towards the house as I hear the front door slam shut. “We’re just waiting on Andy and then we have a meeting with some reps” says Shaun as Andy approaches yawning his head off and adjusting himself in a way that leads me to believe he doesn’t realise I’m standing here. Shock registers on his face when he looks our way and his hands immediately clasp together.

“Morning everyone” he says with a smile directed at me. “You coming with us Elle?” he asks.

“Um no. I was just telling these two that I have to start looking for work today. Got to pay the bills somehow” I inform him.

“Do you want a lift into Sydney with us then?” he asks me.

“No thanks Andy. I actually need to find something close by for the kids’ sakes. Not to mention is has to be a part time job too since the kids are in school and there’s no after school care either.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I hadn’t thought of that” said Andy.

“Well I better get going and get organised. Have a nice morning guys,” I say as I walk away.

“Hey Elle, anytime after four thirty this afternoon should be fine, okay?” asks Andy.

“Okay, I’ll see then” I say and turn towards home. I hear Shaun ask Andy what’s happening after four thirty and Andy starts to tell him of our plans as they all get in the car.

They beep the horn as they drive past and I throw a wave in their direction as I head inside to get ready.

I spend the day going from shop to shop and one employment agency after another dropping off my resume and hoping like hell that someone will give me a chance. At 3.30pm I find myself wandering down the road to the bus stop again thinking about all the places that I went today.  I hope like crazy that it pays off. I need to find work and soon before my funds run dry.

The bus pulls up and the kids bound off the bus towards me. Lilly is smiling like that she won the lottery so I’m guessing she got to operate the doors today. “So sweetie, what was it like being in charge of the doors?” I ask her.

As we walk home she launches into a huge detailed story all about the doors on the bus. Max is quiet beside her for a change, letting her have the spotlight. When we get home they both start rushing around to get ready to go see Chris. I have to tell them to slow down and that they have plenty of time before we can go over. Big sighs follow and I start to clean up the mess they’ve made. I make them both a snack and go throw some jeans on whilst they’re feeding their faces.

When I come out they’re both in front of the television engrossed in the cartoons. I decide to go out back and grab a beer since I have 20 minutes or so to kill. I listen very carefully to any noise coming from next door but it’s silent. I sit down at the table and try to get my brain to slow down. After being on edge for the past six months or so, it’s really hard to switch off and just enjoy the peace and quiet. The local paper is sitting on the table and I grab a pen and start to do the sudoku puzzle.

As I’m standing up to put my empty bottle in the bin I hear a car pull up next door and some pretty loud singing coming from inside it. The boys must be back. I head inside and peak out the living room window. Sure enough Andy, Bradie, Shaun and Shannon climb out of the car and go to the boot. They all head inside carrying bags of groceries. Well, I guess that means Andy was serious about cooking. Oh boy. I decide to wait another fifteen minutes or so before heading over.

At just after five I grab the kids and a bottle of wine I picked up in town today from the fridge and head next door. I let Max ring the doorbell and Sarah answers it with Chris on her hip.

“Hello guys, come in and make yourselves at home. Andy, Bradie, Elle and the kids are here,” she says.

Bradie comes running around the corner and grabs Lilly giving her a big hug. He fist-bumps Max and gives me a smile. “Hey Elle. Kids, do you want to come play in the toy room with Chris?” he asks whilst grabbing Chris from Sarah. My children nod enthusiastically and follow him down the hallway.

Sarah turns to me and says, “Come in the kitchen Elle and watch the master at work.”

I lean in to her as I follow her through the house and whisper “Can
Andy really cook?”

Laughing, Sarah turns to me and shakes her head. “I’m afraid my son is a little delusional. But he’s going to try anyhow. Tom and I are going to a friend’s house for dinner but Chris is staying here with the boys. I’m sorry to be leaving you with no female company though.”

“That’s okay, really. I’ll be fine.”

We head in the kitchen to find Andy, Shaun and Shannon going through all of the groceries they’ve dumped on the bench. “Hey Elle, here give me that wine. I’ll just put it in the fridge for you” says Shaun, taking the wine from me.

Andy looks up at me and says “hope you like basics. That’s all I can really cook I’m afraid. Meat and veg.”

“That will be fine thanks. The kids aren’t really into elaborate meals. So do you need a hand with anything then?” I ask them.

“Shannon is in charge of the veggies and I’m doing the steaks so we’re all good for the moment thanks. Do you want a drink or something?” Andy asks me.

“A coffee would be great right about now,” I say as Bradie walks in to the kitchen behind me.

“Have a seat at the bench. How do you have it?” Bradie asks me as he goes and turns the kettle on. “Black with one sugar thanks. How are the kids doing?” I ask him.

“They’re fine. They playing with some blocks and I put a HI-5 DVD on for them to watch too. Max said they like that show.”

“Anything with singing and dancing and my kids are as happy as Larry,” I say.

I watch the guys work in the kitchen as Shaun comes and has a seat next to me at the bench. He’s texting on his phone so I don’t disturb him. Bradie brings my coffee over with a cup of tea for himself and sits on the other side of me. I thank him and take a sip. 

We talk quietly about our days and what we did. I tell him about all the places I applied to for work and he tells me what he thinks of them all. I notice Andy is listening in and glancing over towards us frequently. At one point I catch him looking and give him a shy smile. He grins and turns back to the potatoes that he’s slicing up for Shannon’s potato bake.

When the potato bake is in the oven and the veggies are cooking, we grab the kids from the playroom and head out the back so Andy can cook the steaks on the BBQ.  Tom and Sarah come and say goodbye on their way out. Shannon disappears inside and suddenly there is music coming from the speakers on the patio.

The guys are talking about their meeting so I get up and head over to the swings that the kids are playing on. “Hello Chris. Are you having fun?” I ask him.

He turns his beautiful face towards me and holds out his arms, waiting for me to pick him up. I lean over and grab him and realise a smell is wafting from his nappy. Oops.

Guess I’d better go clean him up. I walk back to where the guys are standing and ask Bradie where Chris’ nappies are kept. Bradie grabs him from me and insists on changing him. I can see Shannon and Shaun holding their breath and Andy seems to be pretty engrossed with the BBQ.

I follow Bradie in the house and into Chris’ room where his change table and nappies are. Bradie goes about changing him whilst I glance at the photos on the wall. There are several of the whole family as well as some of Chris with his brothers. They seem like such a tight-knit family. I hope they realise how lucky they are to have each other.

Bradie is talking away to Chris and just as he’s finishing up, Andy appears in the doorway. “There you guys are. Steaks are done if you want to head outside. Shannon and I are just going to dish up in the kitchen,” he says, looking between Bradie and I. I think I see a scowl directed at Bradie but quickly dismiss it.

“Okay Andy, lead the way” I say and follow him out the door with Bradie and Chris behind me. Andy heads to the kitchen and Bradie takes Chris out back. I decide to go into the kitchen and dish up my children’s dinner. Andy smiles at me when he sees that I’m behind him.

“Everything alright Elle?” he asks me. “Yeah, it’s all good. Just figured I’d better dish up Max and Lilly’s dinner,” I reply. He nods and sets about pulling plates out of cupboards. Andy glances around to see if anyone else is in the kitchen before turning to me and asking what I think of Bradie.

I’m actually a little stunned by the question and I stare at the kitchen bench for a moment, trying to decide why he asked me that and what it might mean. I decide for direct tactics and turn to look at him. “He’s a nice guy. You all are. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Just making sure my stepbrother isn’t over-stepping any boundaries.” He’s suddenly really interested in lining the plates up nice and straight. I look at his face and notice that it’s a little pink. Just as I’m about to ask him what boundaries he’s referring to, Shannon comes into the kitchen.

“ Hey bud, you have to get that potato bake out before it burns,” he says to Andy. Shannon shoves Andy out of the way of the oven and grabs a towel to take the dish out. He places it on the stovetop and grabs a serving spoon from a utensil holder on the bench top. “Do we want to dish this up for everyone or just he kids?” he asks Andy and I.

“I reckon every one can dish up their own and we just do the kids plates now” I reply turning to Andy. “What do you think?”

“Sounds good” he says and starts to stack the plates to take outside. He leaves me in the kitchen with Shannon and the vegetables.

“Did I interrupt something then?” asks Shannon. “No, not at all” I reply, perhaps a little too quickly as I notice Shannon’s eyebrows rise. He smiles and shakes his head whilst pouring the veggies into a serving dish. I start to dish up the kids plates and then take them outside. Bradie comes over and grabs Chris’ plate from my hands and heads over to the BBQ to grab some meat for him. I follow and call to Max and Lilly to come get their dinner.

Shaun has set up a kids table for them to sit at with Chris and he gets them settled whilst I grab a plate and head back to the BBQ. Andy follows me and dishes my plate up for me.  I thank him and we head back to the table with the other guys.

Admittedly the steak is good and I tell Andy. He looks pleased with himself until Shannon cracks up that his is burnt. Obviously a rare meat lover and Andy tells him to cook it himself next time.  

Dinner passes by, Andy puts Chris to bed and I do the dishes for them since they cooked for me. Shaun has put The Lion King on the DVD player for Max and Lilly and they make themselves comfortable in the toy room.

I can see Bradie and Shannon chatting away with Shaun when he comes back out. Andy comes into the kitchen and grabs a tea towel to wipe up.

“So Elle. You liked my cooking then?” he asks me looking proud of himself.

“Dinner was wonderful thanks Andy. It’s not very often that I get a night off cooking so I always make sure I enjoy it” I reply. “I’ll have to repay you though and have you over for my famous lasagne. You won’t be able to resist it,” I say with a smile.

“That’s a date,” he says as Bradie walks in to turn the kettle on. “Hey Braaaadiiiieeee, Elle here asked me over for dinner.” I realise as he says this that it did sound like I was asking him, and only him over. Oops. As appealing as a date with Andy sounds, I don’t want Bradie to feel like the odd one out here.

Bradie looked at me and I smile at him. “You and the others are most welcome too. I wanted to repay you all for tonight’s meal” I say to Bradie. Andy looks between us and I can almost hear his brain working overtime. 

“That sounds great. When were you thinking?” says Bradie.

“Well you guys have that 21^st birthday party this weekend so maybe one night next week perhaps?”

“What about tomorrow night?” asks Andy. “We aren’t doing anything then are we?”

Shaun and Shannon come in just then and join in the conversation. “What’s happening tomorrow night?” asks Shannon.

“Dinner at Elle’s house” relies Bradie.

“No can do my friend. I have a date with Brooke and her parents” replies Shaun.  “Aren’t you going to Jimmy’s house with Jumpnow?” Shaun asks Shannon. “Yeah, we have that Mario rematch happening. Hey I thought you were coming too Bradie?” asks Shannon.

Bradie is looking a little lost until Shannon ever so obviously stands on his foot and winks. “Oh right, yeah I did say I was going didn’t I?” replies Bradie.

“Looks like it’s just you and me then Elle” says Andy.

“And Max and Lilly too remember” says Shaun giving Andy a nudge.

“Oh right, yeah, the kids too.” Andy doesn’t look quite as happy as he did a moment ago. He obviously forgets that I have kids. Speaking of which.

“I’m just going to go find them. I’ll have to get them home I’m afraid. They have school in the morning.”

“I’ll come with you. Andy can finish up the dishes, can’t you Andy?” says Bradie.

“Yeah, I can do that” he says.

Bradie and I head to the toy room to find the sleeping forms of my children. Chris has worn them out and they are out cold. Bradie smiles and says “awww, they are always so cute when they’re asleep.”

“I’m going to grab Lilly, do you think you can carry Max for me Bradie?”  I ask him.

“Yeah sure no problems.” We both pick up the children and head back to the kitchen. Shaun and Shannon are back outside and Bradie looks at Andy and nods his head in their direction. Andy understands what he’s trying to convey and taps on the window to get Shaun and Shannon’s attention. They realise that I’m heading home and both wave to me, which I smile back in return.  Andy goes ahead of me and opens the front door for us all. He walks in front of me to my front door and then looks to me for the keys. I whisper to him “they’re in my back pocket” and he nods his head.

An awkward moment ensues with Andy copping a feel of my left bum cheek in his bid to grab my keys. I’m so thankful that it’s dark out here and he can’t see my embarrassment. He opens the front door and stands aside so Bradie and I can put the kids in their rooms. After making sure they are both tucked in and asleep, I head back out to the front door to say goodnight.

Bradie smiles and says goodnight and I thank him again for carrying Max for me. “I’ll be home in a minute” Andy calls to Bradie as he’s walking home.

“Listen Elle, about before. I didn’t realise that it was an open invitation for all of us for dinner. I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself there and maybe got a bit excited at the thought of spending some more time with you and getting to know you better.”

Wow. Andy wants to spend time with me. Andy wants to get to know me. Oh double wow. He’s looking at me for a response. Oops. Got to stop talking to myself in my head.

“That’s okay Andy. But in the end there, it did work out in your favour anyhow. You know, since the others all have plans,” I say with a smile.

“Yeah, about that. I might have mentioned to Shaun and Shannon yesterday that I thought you were a nice girl and I might want to get to know you better. I guess this is their way of helping me out.”

“I guess that Shannon doesn’t know what subtlety means then?” I laugh.

“Definitely not” he laughs with me.

“I’d better get going anyhow before they start to wonder where I am. I guess I’ll have to have a word to Bradie too” says Andy.

“Yeah, it might be nice of you to fill him in on what’s going on, since he obviously had no clue,” I reply.

Andy looks at me and nods his head. He takes a deep breath and looks intently at his feet. It almost seems like he’s having some sort of internal battle. Finally he shrugs his shoulders and looks up at me. He smiles and leans in to place a soft kiss on my cheek. I hold my breath and realise that he is holding my hands in his. He slowly pulls away and releases my hands. “Goodnight Elle” he says in a whisper.

“Thank you for dinner Andy. It really was wonderful,” I say to him whilst blushing three shades of pink. “Goodnight.”

He smiles and heads back home with a wave over his shoulder. I lock the front door and go take a long hot shower. There is a lot of tension in my body and I need to relax so that I can get some sleep. At this point, a hot shower is my only option. I hope I have sweet dreams tonight.

Chapter six.

At around 2am Friday morning, I wake to the sound of heavy rainfall and realise that it’s storming outside. I crawl out of bed and go walking around the house checking to make sure the windows are closed and no rain is coming in. I look in on the kids and they are both sound asleep, oblivious to the thunder.

I head into the kitchen and grab a drink before walking back to my room. As I pass through the living room I noticed that there are still lights on next door. I look out through the curtains and I can see the light is coming from the BBQ area out the back. There are two figures sitting at the table and it looks like they are watching TV or perhaps it’s a laptop.

“Hey. Andy was going to show me the new episode. That sneaky little bugger,” I thought to myself. I make my way back to my bedroom and grab my laptop from under the bed. It was one of the first things I bought myself after my divorce as a kind of “congratulations” for starting my new life. It was something I had always wanted yet was denied. “What’s the use in having that as well as a computer? Why do you need two of them? They do the same thing don’t they?” I could hear the arguments in my head.

With a sigh, I open it up and log on. I check my emails and bring the weather map up to see how long the storm is going to last. Next I have a quick look at my Tumblr account and then my twitter. I still haven’t gotten around to setting up a Facebook account and I don’t really want to, to be honest. Doing so might present a way of finding me. At least my Tumblr is pretty much anonymous.

Whilst I am checking my twitter I notice the boys next door have been up to their late night drunk tweets again. Shaking my head I go back through them all to see what they have been saying. Most of the tweets consisted of silly little things but one is about the Short Stack TV episode that Andy had mentioned.

SSTV 30 will be up within 24 hours. Waiting on approval from the guys.

From the looks of things, everyone has been trying to convince him to put it up anyway. I could see that Bradie has been tweeting too and is telling them to wait it out. I smile to myself and think of all the times I have tweeted these guys. But never have I had a reply. I decide to give it another shot.

I bet I see it before anyone else does! ;)

Whilst I’m waiting to see if they reply I decide to get up and get another drink. I wander through to the kitchen and sneak a look out the window at their back patio. Instead of two silhouettes I only see one now. Whoever it is looks as though they are typing. I speed-walk back to the bedroom and see that I’ve had a reply.

Do you have inside information? How are you going to see it first?

Turns out its Andy sitting outside still. I decide to send a reply and stir things up a bit.

My little secret. Let’s just say, I know some nice people who have offered me a look at it. ;)

I wait. Then I wait some more. Fifteen minutes have passed and I’m wondering if he’s gone to bed. I’m just about to get up and go check when another tweet comes through.

It simply says impossible.

I just send a smiley face in return and decide to log off again. If I keep this up I’ll never get any sleep. I power down my laptop and put it back under the bed. Rolling over I see that it’s now after 3 am. I snuggle back under my sheets and try to get some more sleep.

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»> 

The sun wakes me at just after 6am and I crawl out of bed. It took me ages to get back to sleep last night and even then it was a restless sleep too. I had strange dreams of Facebook and friend requests and a guy dressed all in black watching me from outside my bedroom window. Not a nice night, I must say.

I jump in the shower and get dressed before going out to the kitchen to get breakfast organised and start on school lunches. I’m half way through the sandwiches when Max comes and gives me a cuddle around the legs.

“Morning Mum” he says, his eyes still half closed in sleep.

“Morning my little man. Did you hear the storm last night?” I ask him. He shakes his head and asks me what’s for breakfast.

I send him to the table and bring him his cereal as Lilly wanders into the dining room too. I kiss the top of her head on my way pass and say good morning to her. 

Back in the kitchen I get some toast going for her and decide I’d better have breakfast now as well. I had planned on heading into town after I drop the kids at the bus stop to get some groceries and wine for tonight’s dinner.

I launch into a daydream about a perfect world where I fall in love and get the guy and the kids are happy and life is sub-lime. It must have been a great daydream because I snap out of it at the smell of burning toast. Dam it. Now I’ll have to make some more.

I make my shopping list out with all the ingredients I will need while cooking some more toast.

Sitting at the kitchen table with the children, Lilly turns to me and asks, “what’s for dinner tonight Mummy?”

“Actually, sweetie, I’m making lasagne” I reply.

Two kids suddenly perk up and yell “yay!” I’m proud of the fact my children love my cooking, especially their favourite, lasagne.

“Andy from next door is coming over for dinner too, if that’s okay with you two?”

Max nods his head and say “yeah Mum, that’s cool.” My son, the little cool dude.

“Mum, is Andy your boyfriend now?” Lilly asks me.

I nearly choke on my coffee at that. “Um no sweetie, Andy and I are just friends, the same as how Bradie and Shaun and Shannon and I are all friends too. Andy’s only coming over because the other boys had plans,” I tell her.

“Is he bringing Chris with him mum?” asks Lilly.

“I really don’t know honey. He didn’t actually say,” I tell her.

Lilly nods to herself and seems content with the answer I gave her.

Pity I can’t say the same for me. What would happen if later down the track I do end up having a boyfriend? I hadn’t honestly thought this far ahead and hadn’t thought that any guy would be interested in a divorced mother of two.  The thought of unsettling my children because of another man in the picture has me frowning to myself and lost in thought.

Max taps my arm and says, “Mum, should we go get dressed now?”

I look at the clock and see that it’s now a quarter to eight. Where has the morning gone?

“Yes honey, put your bowls and plates in the sink and go get dressed please” I reply.

I jump up and go see about getting everyone ready to go. I’ll have to think some more about this later, I decide.

Chapter Seven.

After dropping the kids to the bus stop, I started thinking about what Lilly had said to me at breakfast about Andy. The kids have never seen me with any one else besides their father before. Not even any friends really. The only people that they would associate with me would be their dad and their grandparents and family. I was isolated from any friends over the years by my ex-husband and now suddenly I have a few of them, of the male species, living right next door. I can see why Lilly was getting confused.

I was so deep in thought that by the time I ran into the body standing on the sidewalk it was too late. I felt myself rebound and fall back, flat on my bum on the wet grass. Great. 

Looking up I see that’s it’s Tom that I ran into. “Are you okay there Elle?” he asks me as he holds his hand out to help me back up.

“I’m fine Tom thanks. Sorry I didn’t see you there. I was day dreaming again.”

“That’s no problems. As long as you’re alright,” said Tom.

Nodding at him I ask “so did you want to see me about something?”

“Yeah actually Elle, Andy left a note out on the bench at sometime during the night saying he was heading to your house tonight for dinner.” I nod my head in affirmation. “Well, he was suppose to be babysitting Chris tonight for Sarah and I. It’s our anniversary and I was taking her out for dinner”.

“Oh wow, happy anniversary Tom. That’s fine if Chris comes over too. The kids love playing with him. If you guys are going to be late home, perhaps you might want him to stay the night then?” I offer.

“That’s nice of you to offer, thanks. I’ll let Andy know and he can decide on that one. I guess it depends on how late he was planning on staying out for. But don’t let him off-load Chris on to you though so he can go out with his mates. It’s his turn to sit for us and he knows that,” says Tom.

“Okay, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”

“I have to get to work but thanks for letting us leave Andy and Chris with you. In my opinion they both need babysitting” said Tom with a smile and wave.

He turns and heads off to his car. “I’ll see you later Tom.”

I head into the house and grab the washing from the machine and go out back to hang it out. As I’m about to head inside I hear “morning Elle” come from over my left shoulder. I turn and see Bradie’s head sticking up over the fence.

“Hey Bradie, you’re up early aren’t you?” I ask him.

”Ah, I always have trouble sleeping in. It doesn’t matter how late I get to bed, I’m always up before 8am. It’s a curse, what can I say?”

“Yeah me too, but that comes from having kids that will destroy your house if you happen to sleep in” I tell him.

“So what are you up to this morning then?” Bradie asks me.

“I’m about to head to the supermarket and get some groceries for tonight actually. Do you want to come with me?” I ask him.

“Yeah sure thing. I’ll just go grab my wallet and I’ll be over.”

“Okay, I’m just going to go get changed. Come in the front door when you’re ready,” I say to him as I turn and head inside.

“Gotchya” he replies before his head disappears.

I go into my room and rummage around my closet to find another pair of shorts since the ones I’m wearing are now sporting grass stains on the bum.

After I locate another pair, I head into the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my hair. I put on just a little bit of makeup to hide the bags under my eyes. Guess I’ll be walking around today with my chin in the air to hide them. I haven’t worn make up in years, another restriction I was forced to endure, so I’m a little out of practice at putting in on. Ten minutes later and I’m done. I only have a little bit of foundation, eyeliner and mascara but it looks okay. I grab my lip-gloss and head out to the living room.

Bradie is sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine from the coffee table. He looks up as I walk in and smiles. “You look nice Elle.”

I go all shy, like always and don’t know what to say. A quiet “thanks” comes out of me from the place I store my courage.

“I see you have a WII. Don’t let Andy anywhere near it. He is hopeless at those games. No co-ordination what-so-ever” he tells me.

I laugh at that, thinking about what a huge gamer Bradie is.

“It’s okay. We mainly have dancing and singing games for it anyway” I say.

“Do you have the one with our song on it?” he asks me.

Shaking my head I reply “no, not yet. I’ve been waiting for it to come on special so I can get it.

“Don’t fret. We have heaps of them. They sent them to us when they were released. I’ll drop one over to you later on or I’ll get Andy to bring one tonight.”

“Wow, thank you. That’s so nice of you,” I tell him.

“No problems” he says.

“Well, let’s get going then” I say as we head out the front door to the garage.

Shopping with Bradie turns out to be quite fun and he’s successfully distracted me from thinking about my morning conversation with Lilly. Bradie insisted on pushing the trolley, “like a gentleman should” he tells me. Whilst I’m looking for the things I need he’s telling me all about his last tour. A couple of times he gets recognised and stops to chat to people. I just continue on down the aisles to give him some time with his fans.

When we get to the checkout I see that he’s used a corner of my shopping trolley to put his purchases in. The pile of items seems to be mainly lollies and junk food. He grins sheepishly at me as he suggests that he goes first since he’s only got a few things. I agree with him and let him go in front of me.

He puts up the bags of lollies and Pez applicators and I notice he’s also got hairspray and a notepad and pens too.

After he’s finished loading his items, he turns and starts grabbing my stuff too. I’m thinking to myself, “I wonder how he’s going to react to the tampons that I grabbed.”

I watch his face carefully as he’s loading items and when he gets to the black box with the pretty pink decorations he turns a lovely shade of pink.

I smile to myself but don’t want him to see that I’ve noticed his embarrassment. Just at that moment the checkout girl tells him the total of his items and he straightens up and pays the lady.

“I’ll get the rest,” I tell him and he moves to the end of the register and waits for me to push him the trolley.

After we are finished inside, we head to the car to load the groceries. On the drive home Bradie seems to be a bit quiet.

“What’s the matter?” I ask him.

“Nothing, nothing.” He says. I glance at him and then back to the road again. I have the feeling that he’s not telling me something.

“Seriously Bradie, are you okay?” I ask him again.

“Yeah, I’m fine Elle. Don’t mind me. Just doing my bit of quiet contemplating for the day” he smiles in reply.

“Okay” I say. But I can tell there’s something bugging him anyhow.

Bradie helps me unload my groceries when we get home and he takes his stuff and thanks me for taking him with me.

“Anytime” I tell him and I genuinely mean it too. He is such a nice guy and is really easy to hang out with too.

“Do you need me to tell Andy anything for you?” he asks me.

I frown to myself and wonder why he’d ask that. “No thanks Bradie. I’ll pop over if I need anything” I tell him.

“Okay, thanks again Elle, I’m going to head home. I’ll see you later” Bradie says over his shoulder on his way out the front door.

“Bye Bradie, thanks for the entertainment” I yell out to him.

Looking at the clock I see that it’s almost lunchtime. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. I put my groceries away and make myself a sandwich before setting about doing my chores for the day.

My mobile phone rings at around 2pm and I glance at the caller id and frown to myself. It’s not a number that I know. “Hello, Elle speaking” I say.

It turns out that one of the shops that I had left my resume at was looking for someone to do some administration work for them part time from home. I was asked to come in on Monday for an interview. After hanging up I yelled out loud “yes!” How exciting. This would be my first job in years, working for someone else. I used to do all the administration and bookwork for my ex-husband so I had experience in it all. But I haven’t worked for someone else in over ten years.

Looking at the clock I decide to start getting the meat sauce ready for the lasagne now whilst the kids weren’t home to distract me. I got everything simmering in the pot and went to get the lasagne sheets and the ingredients for the cheese sauce from the cupboard. Oh no. No lasagne sheets. I could have sworn I bought some today. I go out to the car and check the boot but no lasagne sheets. What happened to them?

I start to think about it and the only idea I can come up with was that they were put in Bradie’s bag by mistake. I turn the stove off and head next door to see if they are over there.

Knocking on the front door, I start thinking about the interview I have on Monday and immediately start to get nervous. Bradie answers and asks me to come in. Strange that he doesn’t look surprised to see me. We head into the kitchen and he turns the kettle on.

“Um Bradie. You don’t by chance have my lasagne sheets do you?” I ask him.

“Ah yeah, I do actually. I was going to bring them over to you but I got sidetracked. Sorry about that,” he says as he grabs them off the kitchen bench and passes them to me. “Do you want a coffee while you’re here?” he asks me.

Looking at my watch I see it’s a quarter to three. “Yeah, I think I have enough time.”

He makes me a cup and then throws the spoon into the sink, making it clang loudly. He passes it to me as I hear a door slam from behind me.

“Jesus Bradie. I’m up. You can stop slamming shit around now.” Andy walks into the kitchen in his jocks yawning before coming to a dead stop. I look at Bradie and he’s smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Um, morning Elle. I’ll just go put some pants on shall I” says Andy as he turns and runs out the room.

“You did that on purpose didn’t you?” I ask Bradie.

“Who me?” he asks, still smiling his head off.

Shaking my head, I sip my coffee and Bradie sit next to me to have his tea.

Andy reappears five minutes later and grabs a can of coke from the fridge. I screw my face up and ask him how he can drink that after just waking up.

“Why, what’s wrong with that?” he replies.

“Nothing, nothing” I say.

“So what’s happening?” Andy asks us.

Bradie tells him about our morning shopping trip and the lasagne sheets.

“Oh. I have some news,” I say. “I have a job interview on Monday” I tell them both. They congratulate me and ask me all about it. I tell them all I know and they in turn tell me everything they know about the store that I’m applying to.

Before long it’s almost 3.30pm and I have to excuse myself to go get the kids from the bus stop.

They both walk me to the front door and say goodbye. I tell Andy to come over at around 5pm and not to forget Chris’ nappies and spare clothes. He nods his head and then realises that I know he’s on babysitting duty.

“I spoke to Tom this morning and he filled me in on it all” I tell the guys.

Andy nods at me Bradie gives me a wave before going back inside. I turn and head on my merry way to tell Max and Lilly all about my job interview that I have coming up. They will be so excited for me.

Chapter Eight

When I met Max and Lilly at the bus stop, I tell them all about my job interview on the walk home. They are both really excited for me. I also tell them how I’d still be home most of the time if I got the job because it was mainly computer work.

They both seemed relieved that they would still be able to catch the bus and I’d be home for them when they needed me. When I think about it, this job will be just perfect for my situation. I sincerely hope that I get it.

They asked me why I was carrying the lasagne sheets to the bus stop and I explained what Bradie and I had done this morning and how he had the lasagne sheets. I also told them that Chris was coming for dinner tonight with Andy and how they both had to clean up their rooms and find some toys for Chris to play with whilst he visits.

When we walked inside the kids unpacked their bags then headed off to their rooms for the clean up. I started heating up the lasagne meat sauce and grabbed the rest of the ingredients out of the cupboard to get everything assembled. Working quickly I had the lasagne ready to go by 4.30pm.

Realising I still had half an hour before Andy came over with Chris, I checked in on the kids then had a quick shower and got changed into jeans and a dark shirt. I quickly tied my hair back and went to make sure the kids were doing what they were suppose to. Then I went into the kitchen and turned the oven on.

It was just after 5 pm when there was a knock on the front door. “Come in” I yelled out. Chris came running into the kitchen where I was making a salad and grabbed me around my legs. “Hey little man” I said to him, returning his smile.

“Max, Lilly, the neighbours are here,” I yelled out.

Andy came into the kitchen carrying the bottle of wine that I had taken over last night and a big blue bag that I assumed was Chris’ stuff.  “I figured we might actually try to drink some of this tonight, since we forgot it last night” said Andy.

“I completely forgot about that. Thanks for bringing it.”

”That’s not all I brought with me though,” he said as he pulled a plastic bag out of Chris’ nappy bag. “I thought I should bring some dessert too so I grabbed some ice cream and a few chocolate bars. I was going to suggest that I make my version of semi-frado,” he tells me.

“I’m impressed,” I tell him. “Do actually know what semi-frado is?”

“I watch a lot of cooking shows. It’s not as exciting as everyone thinks being a rock God,” he tells me with a wink.

Shaking my head, I take the ice cream and chocolate bars from his hands and put them in the freezer for later on.

Max and Lilly come running in and say hi to Andy and Chris.

“Hey guys, I brought you something to play later on if you want,” says Andy, digging into the blue bag again. He pulls out the WII game that Bradie was talking about.

“Oh cool” says Max taking the game from Andy.

“Lilly, Max, why don’t you take Chris into the living room and bring out those toys I was talking about earlier?” I say to the kids.

“Okay mum” says Lilly and they head off to the living room.

“Can I help you with anything?” asks Andy.

“No thanks, I’ve got it all covered. You can grab a beer if you like from the back fridge.”

“Oh dam it. That’s what I forgot to bring. I feel bad drinking your beer all the time. I’m just going to duck home and grab a six pack,” he tells me.

“Andy, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s quite okay,” I tell him.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be back in a minute,” he says on his way out the front door.

I finish off the salad and put it in the fridge then go into the living room with the kids. Max has found his Duplo blocks and is showing Chris how to build a car.  Lilly tells me she’s building a house with a garage so that Chris can put his car in there when he builds it.

By the time Andy comes back the kids have built a little city on the living room floor and they are all playing with the little Duplo animals.

“I also forgot to bring you these as well,” Andy says handing me a beautiful bunch of hand picked flowers. It looks like he’s been raiding his mum’s gardens. I wonder if she knows or not.

“Oh thank you. That is so sweet” I say to him. Lilly looks up at Andy and smiles. He turns and hands her a single daisy. “And this one is for you beautiful” says Andy.

This guy is smooth! Lilly blushes a deep red and doesn’t quite know what to say. “Thank you,” she replies in a very hushed voice.

“I’ll just go put these in some water,” I say, getting up and heading back to the kitchen. I pop the lasagne in the oven while I’m there and put the vase of flowers on the dining table. When I return to the living room I offer to put the beer in the fridge and ask the kids if they want to play outside before it gets too dark.

They agree and we all head out to the back patio. Andy grabs the beer and unloads it into the fridge and offers me one, which I accept.  We sit at the table and watch the kids in the sand pit again.

“Did you bring a change of clothes for Chris?” I ask Andy.

“Yeah, I think mum put in a couple of sets as well as his Pyjamas.”

“Have they left yet?” I ask him.

“Yeah they’re actually staying the night in Sydney at some flash place.”

“Oh okay. I did offer Tom this morning to have Chris stay over tonight if he wanted. He said he’d leave it up to you” I tell him.

“Yeah, dad did mention that. We’ll just play it by ear I think. I can always just put him to sleep on a blanket on the floor and take him home when I leave.”

I look at Andy and say, “You can sleep here if you want to as well.”

Seeing his eyes widen, I quickly add “I can throw a mattress on the floor so you and Chris can share.”

He smiles and says, “we’ll see what happens shall we.”

Twenty minutes later and I’m in the kitchen dishing up dinner.  Andy is putting Chris on a kitchen chair and propping him up with cushion under his bum. He’s looking a little unstable so I offer him a belt to hold him on the chair. He accepts and I go grab one from the bedroom. We get him set up and I hand the plates to Andy to put on the table.

I have the radio softly playing music and the kids start to complain about the Def Leppard song that’s on. “What have I told you two before? Don’t knock the 80’s. Mummy was born in the 80’s,” I chide them.

“Hey, so was Bradie, Shaun and I” add Andy.

They look at both of us and start eating their dinner again. I give Andy a wink and a silent thank you.

After dinner the kids decide they want to play the new WII game. I agree to let them have a go but they still have to play with Chris too.  An hour later, the dishes are done and I’m ready to kill the next child that sings ‘Sway Sway Baby’ again.

“Okay, time to turn that off and have a bath” I tell them all. “Max you can go start the bath for me please. Lilly do you want to go round up your pyjamas too.”

“I’ll put Chris in last if you like, he usually has a bath right before bedtime” says Andy. He’s going through the bag he brought and gets out everything he needs.

“Why don’t you make that dessert now whilst I get Lilly and Max in the bath?” I ask him.

He picks Chris up and says, “sure thing, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

I go and get the kids into the bath and find a blanket and mattress for Chris to sleep on.

“Where do you keep your wine glasses,” Andy sings out from the kitchen.

“Have a look in the cupboard above the stove” I reply.

“Got them.”

I set up the blanket and mattress on the floor of the spare room and go get the kids out of the bath. They are both excited that Andy is making desert for them and can’t wait to see what it is.

After they have their pyjamas on they race into the kitchen to see what he’s made. In four bowls on the bench top is a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate bars mashed into it. “This looks like cold rock,” says Max.

Andy grins and says, “well yeah, it’s kinda like that, but better because I made it.”

“Oh yeah” say the kids. He has them wrapped around his little finger.

Andy spoons some into Chris’ mouth and he seems to love it.

I take a sip of my wine and eye the bowl of ice cream. Admittedly it does look good so I have a spoonful, closing my eyes and enjoying the taste. When I open them I notice everyone staring at me.

“Is that good Mum?” asks Max.

I had been blissfully unaware of everyone and judging from their reactions, I might have hummed in pleasure. Andy was staring at me with his mouth open. Yep, I definitely hummed or moaned.

“Um, yeah, its really good. Did everyone thank Andy for making it?”

Polite ‘thankyous’ were said. Andy turned to me and said “and thank you for showing your appreciation.”

I think I blushed right to the roots of my hair.

When everyone had finished, I clean up the kitchen whilst Andy bathed Chris. Max and Lilly went to the living room to clean up the mess they had made and then got ready for bed.

I went in and kissed them both and said goodnight. Andy came in with Chris after me to say goodnight as well.  I showed him to the office and the bed I had made for Chris. If Andy and Chris were both staying, there would be enough room for both of them to sleep. 

I went out to the kitchen and grabbed my wine before going in to the living room and sitting down with my laptop to check on my emails and to wait for Andy. 

I logged on to my email and then my Tumblr account whilst I was waiting. I also checked Twitter and saw that Bradie had been tweeting tonight about his Mario face-off with Jimmy and Shannon.

Someone’s noticeably absent tonight babysitting. Awww poor Andy.

I decide to leave it up there for Andy to see when he comes in. But the more I think about it, the more I want to reply so I shoot back the following tweet:

Thanks for missing me Bradie but someone has to watch his ass! He’s more of a handful than Chris! ;)

Just as I hit the reply button, Andy wanders in carrying his wine and sits down on the couch next to me.

“Whatcha doin?” he asks.

Do I show him or not? I guess he’s gong to see it anyway so I turn my screen towards him so he can see. I watch him as he quickly scans the page then looks at me.

“I thought that was you last night on twitter but I couldn’t see any lights on over here” he says. I realise he’s noticed my twitter name and has made the connection. Oh oh.

Explanation time is coming. 

Chapter nine.

“I have no idea what I was doing on Twitter at that hour of the night to be honest. That storm woke me up; I couldn’t sleep so I decided to check a few things whilst I had some peace and quiet. Actually, that was the first time I have ever got a reply from you,” I told Andy.

“Really? Wow, I thought I tweeted everyone at least once,” he replied.

Wanting to change the subject of my “tweet stalking” I grabbed the laptop from him and quickly signed off from twitter. But not before I saw Bradie’s reply.

Awww, promise I’ll by you a coffee for your trouble tomorrow!

I smiled to myself and then brought up You Tube.

“So, do I get to see the episode then?” I ask Andy.

“Oh, yeah. I haven’t uploaded it yet but I did bring it with me on a thumb drive. Hang on, I’ll go get it,” he said as he got up to retrieve Chris’ nappy bag. He came back to the couch and I handed him the laptop. He put the drive in and pulled up the episode and hit the play button before putting the laptop on the coffee table.

I leaned forward in my seat so I could get a better look at it whilst Andy leaned back on the couch and drank the last of his wine.  I turned quickly to look at him and smile. He was looking a little nervous I guessed but he was trying to cover it with a relaxed posture.

Nine minutes and forty-two seconds later I sat back against the couch, and Andy’s arm that was lying across the top of the seat. I turned to him and said “thank you so much for that. It was really very good.” He grinned at me. “Do you do all the editing of these?” I ask him.

“Um yeah, most of the time. Shannon sometimes gives me a hand if I need it but mostly it’s me.”

“Well you certainly do a good job” I compliment him.

He turned shy suddenly and then said, “I really want to ask you what you think of us, I mean our band, but I reckon it’s going to sound like I’m fishing for compliments or something. I’m honestly not. I just, well, I want to know what you think of us.”

I look at Andy for a while and try to work out what to say to his confession. Honesty wins out so I decide to go with that.

Lowering my head and suddenly paying attention to my hands in my lap I reply, “well, I think the dynamics that you guys have work perfectly. I mean, you have Shaun who is the flamboyant one, your words not mine,” I say as I chance a glance up at him. He rewards me with a smile.

“He is really good at being the front man, and he knows how to work a crowd. Then you have got Bradie. He’s like the backbone I guess of the band. He seems to be the levelheaded one that keeps everything together, kind of like the glue. He’s a really sweet guy too so he represents the quiet, teddy bear type. Then there’s you,” I say.

I look at him and he’s kind of looking nervous but anxious to hear what I say. I think to myself that if I say what I really think now, there’s no turning back. Mentally I decide to leap off that cliff and tell him the truth.

“You may be the crazy one, the wild one, the joker, the exhibitionist, but I think that most of that is for show really. Deep down I think you’re intelligent, and very sweet and incredibly loyal to your family and friends. You don’t let too many people know the real you and you get hurt by everyone’s assumptions about you, but you don’t show it. And yes, I know I’m making assumptions right now, but I think, this time they are right.”

I chance a glance at him and see that he looks like he’s deep in thought. I look back down at my hands and decide that I’ll let him speak next. I have no doubt said too much now.

“Wow. That was probably the most honest and nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I look up at him and then quickly back down. He was looking a little shell-shocked to be honest and that was making me blush, just a little bit.

“Elle” he said. I don’t look. I’m too scared to see what he’s truly thinking.

“Look at me please?” I feel his finger brush under my chin in an attempt to get me to look.

I slowly raise my head and look at his beautiful face. He leans into me gently and kisses me so very softly on my lips. I’m a little stunned but then recover quickly, kissing him back. A little spark ignites in my chest somewhere and I think how amazing it feels to be kissing him.

He pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “Thank you. For telling me all of that.”

“Your welcome” I say to him before he leans in again and kisses me just a little bit harder this time. I welcome the fire I’m feeling and return his kisses. They are sweet and gentle and filled with eagerness but restraint. I respect that he’s keeping himself in check for me. But in reality, I wish he’d deepen the kiss, just a little bit. As I’m toying with the idea of taking control myself, after all, I was the more mature one here; I hear a child’s voice from the other room.

Pulling back I look to Andy and we both turn towards the voice.

“It’s Lilly” I say to him. “I’ll just go check on her and I’ll be back.”

“No worries. I might just pinch your lap top and upload this video while I wait, if that’s okay with you?” he asks me.

“That’s fine, help yourself,” I say as I get up from the couch and head into Lilly’s room.  She’s a bit restless and I wonder if she’s having another nightmare. Since the divorce, Lilly often complained about a masked man in her dreams that comes and takes her away from everyone. It scares and saddens me that a six-year-old child can have such horrible dreams.

I gently sit next to her on the bed and stroke her hair to settle her down. I look around her room and notice her nightlight is out. I get back up and pull it from the wall and head to the kitchen to find another bulb.

“Everything okay?” asks Andy from the living room.

“Yeah, she’s just a bit restless. Her nightlight isn’t working either so I’m just getting a new bulb for it” I say to him. I figure he doesn’t need to know about the nightmares.

“Do you want a drink or something when I come back?” I ask him as I walk through the living room to put the nightlight back on.

“Yeah, I might have a beer but I’ll wait till you get back first” he says smiling at me as I pass.

“Okay. I won’t be long. I’ll check the other two as well whilst I’m at it,” I say.

I go back to Lilly’s room and then I check on Max and Chris. They are all out cold and Chris is cuddled into his blanket that his brother had given him.

“Did you upload the video?” I ask Andy as I step back into the living room.

“Yeah, it’s up. I also tweeted that it was up as well so it’s probably had a few hits by now” he says.

“All the kids are out cold. Did you want to sit out the back for a while and have a beer?” I ask him.

“Yeah, that sounds good actually” he replies whilst standing up.

We both walk out the back and Andy grabs a beer from the fridge and offers me one as well, which I readily accept. I need to do something with my hands and mouth to keep them occupied and drinking a beer sounds like the best thing at this stage.

I sit down at the table on the bench seat and Andy sits next to me. I’m suddenly feeling like a thirteen year old, unsure of what I should do, so I just take a mouthful of my beer instead and stare out into the backyard.

We haven’t turned any outside lights on so we are sitting quietly in the dark. It doesn’t feel too awkward and I’m a bit relieved that it’s actually comfortable to be in silence with Andy.

He reaches over with his free hand and traces a line up and down my forearm that is leaning on the table. He runs his fingers over mine and then turns my hand palm up. He starts to tickle my palm, something my ex-husband used to do all the time and I quickly pull my hand away.

”I’m sorry, does that tickle?” he asks me.

“Um, kind of. I just don’t really like it on my palm. Um, bad memories” I say and he understands immediately that I’m referring to the dreaded ex.

“Can I just hold your hand then?” he says, sounding so sweet.

I hold my hand back out to him and he laces his fingers through mine and leans his elbow on the table so our hands are visible. I start to stare at them and look at the differences between them. He has a couple of calluses and his nails are really short, like he bites them all the time. I have this insane need to kiss his fingertips but I’m afraid that he’ll think I’m a bit weird. I take another gulp of my beer instead and look away again.

A light next-door flicks on and there is a dull glow coming from the other side of the fence.

“Bradie must be home,” says Andy looking at his watch. “It’s only 11.30. Wonder why he’s home so early?”

“Holy crap. 11.30 already? No wonder I’m stifling a yawn here” I say in surprise.

“I take it you’re not used to being up so late at night?”

“Definitely not, especially when you have young children who rarely sleep in!” I tell him.

“If I’m keeping you up, tell me okay. I’ll go home if you want me to” he says.

I’m in a bit of a bind. On one hand, I know the kids will be up at six am and I really should try to get some sleep. On the other hand, I enjoy spending time with Andy. Who am I kidding? I love spending time with Andy. He’s just so comfortable to be around and just too cute. What do I do?

“Okay, well, I do need to sleep but I don’t want you to go home just yet. So, what if we go inside and watch a movie or something. If I fall asleep, then you’re welcome to stay or go, it’s up to you. But I can’t promise that I will stay awake. Does that sound fair enough?”

“Yeah that’s fine,” he says. We both stand and take our beers into the living room.

“I’m just going to put some pyjamas on so if you could look through the DVDs over there in the cabinet and pick something you want to watch. I’ll be right back.”

He nods and goes to look at the DVDs whilst I go and get my pyjamas on. Once I find a singlet and boxer shorts that don’t reveal the goods, I brush my teeth and my hair then head back out to the living room. I grab our empty bottles and ask Andy if he wants another drink whilst I’m up.

“Yes please” he says whilst putting a disk into the DVD player.

I put the empty bottles in the bin and head out the back to get another beer. I notice that the light next door is already out and wonder why Bradie came home so “early” according to Andy.

I walk back to the couch, put Andy’s beer on the coffee table and sit up one end and pull the recliner handle out so I can lay back a little bit. Andy turns and comes back to the couch to sit beside me. There’s no recliner where he’s sitting so he asks if he can lay down on the couch and put his head in my lap.

“Yeah sure” I say. I grab the remote and start the movie before getting comfortable.

Andy lies down and I absent-mindedly start to stroke his hair while I’m waiting for the movie to start. The beginning of American Pie comes up on the screen and I chuckle to myself, typical Andy-type movie. I didn’t really expect him to pick a drama.

He looks up at me and says “What?”

“Nothing. I haven’t seen this in years actually” I tell him.

He smirks then turns his attention back to the movie. I yawn to myself and try to focus on the screen but realise it’s futile. I let myself drift into sleep, only partially aware that my hand has stopped stroking Andy’s hair and is now resting on his shoulder.

I’m awaken by the coolness I feel on my lap. What is going on?

I open my eyes and see Andy sitting up next to me. He leans over and kisses my forehead. “I’m going to head home okay?” I just nod at him.

“I’ll leave a note for Bradie to come get Chris in the morning okay?” he tells me.

“Okay” I say with a half smile. “Goodnight sweetie” I say in my semi-conscious state.

Andy has a little laugh and smile and says “night lovely lady” before bending and giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. I smile and roll to my side, getting comfortable.

I see him stand and make his way to the door before I drift off into a contented sleep again.

Chapter ten.

The morning light filters through my eyelids and I want to groan out loud. I’m suddenly aware of a little hand on mine and I open my eyes to see Chris sitting on the couch next to me with a beautiful smile on his face.

“Good morning little man” I say to him.

“Where’s Andy?” he says to me.

“Andy went home last night baby but Bradie is going to come over this morning and pick you up. Is Max and Lilly awake yet?” I ask him.

He shakes his head in reply. “How about we go and get you changed and then we’ll get you some breakfast?” I say to him.

Picking Chris up and placing him on my hip, I head into the kitchen to turn the kettle on whilst I’m changing his nappy. I grab a towel from the cupboard and lay it on the floor and lie Chris down on top of it. I duck into the kitchen to get his nappy bag and start to dig through it to find a clean one. There’s also a change of clothes for him so I decide to get him dressed as well. I pull out a bib for his breakfast and a sipper-cup for his milk and then we both go to the kitchen to get organised.

After questioning Chris, he tells me that he likes peanut butter and toast for breakfast. I set him up at the table in his cushioned chair and give him his milk. Max wanders into the kitchen as I’m putting the toast on the table for Chris. He sits down next to him and I ask him what he would like for breakfast. Lilly comes in as well and I manage to get all three children eating and talking quietly to each other.

I’m leaning against the bench drinking my coffee when there’s a knock on the front door. I tell the kids to stay put and go and open it to find Bradie on my doorstep.

“Morning Elle. How are you?” he says with a big smile.

“Good Bradie, come on in. The kids are just having breakfast. Cup of tea?” I ask him.

“Yeah, that’d be great thanks.”

We walk into the kitchen and Chris’ eyes light up when he sees Bradie. Bradie walks over to him and rubs his head in greeting.

I boil the kettle and make Bradie his tea.

”So how was your night then? Did you win?” I ask him.

“Yes and no. I say that I was the winner but the other two disagreed.”

“We were sitting out the back last night when you came home actually. Andy said it was early for you. Do you guys always stay up so late?” I ask him.

“Nah, not me anyhow. I like my sleep but I like the daylight too. Andy is the night owl. Shaun’s a bit like me too. He likes going to the beach a lot as well.”

“Ah. I have no idea what time Andy left last night. I’m afraid I fell asleep on the couch when we were watching a movie.”

I get lost in my thoughts of last night’s events and remember the sweet kisses we shared. I can feel myself starting to blush and turn away to hide it. But Bradie saw it.

“What are you thinking about? I can see you blushing,” he says with a grin.

“Nothing. Nothing at all” I say.

“Now, my dad always told me to not believe a woman when she says ‘nothing’.”

“Okay, so it’s something. But not something I want to talk about in front of the kids” I tell him.

“Okay, I know when to leave things alone” he tells me.

The kids have finished their breakfast and I tell Max and Lilly to go brush their teeth while I clean up the table. Bradie grabs Chris and takes him into the bathroom to wash his hands and face.

When he comes out, the kids are in front of the TV watching the cartoons. Spongebob is on and Bradie is mesmerised by the screen.  I giggle to myself and go do the dishes. When I’m finished Bradie wanders back into the kitchen. He’s left Chris in front of the TV with some blocks.

“So, you had a good night last night?” he asks me, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Yeah, it was nice. Quiet but it was good. We got to talk without the kids hanging around and just enjoyed each other’s company.”

“That’s all you’re going to tell me isn’t it?” Bradie asks me.

I hesitate but then I remember that Bradie considers us good friends. “Well, we did kiss a couple of times. But that was it. I think we’re just getting to know each other, you know?” I reply.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that Andy isn’t as gun-ho as he usually is with women.”

“Really, we haven’t even known each other for a week yet and he’s already put some moves on me. What’s he normally like? Wham-bam thank you ma’am?”

“Ah, lets just say he doesn’t like to put much effort in to reap the rewards” Bradie tells me.

I nod as my suspicions about Andy’s womanising ways are confirmed.

“ So when do I get to buy you that coffee?” Bradie asks me.

“I don’t know really. I won’t be free until next week when the kids are at school I guess. I have that interview on Monday as well. So maybe one day after that then?”

“Okay, we’ll aim for Tuesday. How’s that?” he asks me.

“Sounds great. I’m so nervous about his job interview. I get jittery just thinking of it,” I tell him.

“You’ll do fine. I’m sure you will. So what are you doing tonight then?”

“Home night tonight, same as every other night. You get that when you have kids,” I say with a smile.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go to this party with us all tonight. I’m sure my parents would look after the kids for you. I kinda thought Andy might have already asked you.”

Shaking my head I say “thanks for the offer but I think I’ll just stay at home.” If Andy didn’t ask me then I guess he wants a night off from me. I could use some alone time too if I’m honest with myself. I should be thinking about my interview, not fantasising about the guy next door.

“You sure? Andy would want you to come. I know I want you to be there. You can be my wingman!”

“Yeah, no I’m sure. Thanks anyhow.”

“Okay then. I’m going to head home and get Andy up. Well, I’m going to let Chris into Andy’s room and he can get Andy up,” Bradie tells me with a smile. “Thanks for looking after him while my douche of a brother went home to sleep.”

“No worries. Thanks for coming and getting him. He was no trouble at all.”

We walk into the lounge room and Bradie gets Chris’ bag and things together. “I was thinking of taking this little guy to the park down by the lake later on if you’re interested in bringing these two?” he asked me.

“Yeah sure, call in before you go and I’ll see what we’re up to okay?” I reply.

He nods and then heads for the door with Chris in tow. “Bye kids” he calls to Max and Lilly. They wave good-bye and he heads outside. I tell him I’ll see him later and go back in to put some washing on.

Just before one o’clock, I’m in the kitchen buttering some bread to make sandwiches for lunch when there’s a knock on the front door. “It’s only me” I hear Bradie sing out.

“Come on in Bradie” I reply.

He wanders in to the kitchen with Chris. “So what’s happening then?” he says.

“I was just starting to make some lunch. Are you heading to the park now?” I ask him.

“Yeah I was going to. Chris just woke up from an early nap,” he tells me.

“Okay, well what if I make a couple of extra sandwiches and bring some drinks and we can have lunch there too?”

“Sounds great to me. Do you need a hand or anything?”

“No, I’m good thanks. Do I need to make anything special for you or Chris?” I ask him.

“Nope. What you’re making there is fine. I’ll just duck back home and grab Chris’ cup and bib. Is it okay if I leave him here for a minute?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Max. Lilly. Chris is here,” I sing out.

“Okay, well I’ll be back in a minute. We’ll take my car since I have the baby seat in it. Oh and I’ll see if Andy’s up yet.”

“He’s not awake? I thought you were going to get Chris to wake him up?” I say to him.

“Nah, he’s locked his door. I’ll be back okay?” he says.

“I’ll meet you out front,” I tell him.

Bradie turns and heads back out the front door. Max, Lilly and Chris are all standing in the kitchen talking about the park and the swings they want to go on. I make the sandwiches and throw them in a green bag with a big bag of corn chips and a bottle of water and some cups. When I’m done I hustle the kids out the front door and over to the driveway next door.

Bradie is just coming out of the front door and pulls it closed behind him. I guess Andy isn’t up yet then. He points to a white commodore in the driveway and I head towards it. He unlocks it and I get the kids in the car and Bradie puts Chris in his car seat. I hop in the front passenger side and shut the door.

“Andy’s still asleep so I left him a note on the bench to say that you had kidnapped us and taken us to the park. But I didn’t tell him which one” he says with a smile.

I laugh at him as he starts the engine and we head towards the lake. When we get there we find a nice table in the shade and set our lunch up. It’s right next to the playground and the kids are chomping at the bit to get on it and play.

“Have some lunch first okay, and then you guys can play as much as you want to” I tell them.

Moans and groans follow but they do as they are told and sit and eat. Bradie and I make small talk and he amuses the kids with tales of his experimental sandwiches that he’s made. Nutella and sultanas is his favourite but Max and Lilly screw their faces up in disgust at that. I just laugh at him and tell him he’s got too much time on his hands.

When everything is eaten and the kids have their hats and sunscreen on, I let them go and run off that energy they just stored. Bradie helps me pack up everything and then he takes the bag and puts it back in his car. When he comes back he’s carrying a travel rug that he lays down on the grass so we can lay about and relax.

“This is a great idea,” I say to him as I lie down so I can still see the kids.

“Yep, I thought so too” he says, sitting next to me. Just then his phone makes a weird noise and he pulls it out of his back pocket. “It’s a message from Andy,” he tells me.

He opens the message up and reads it to himself and then shows the phone to me.

Where the hell are you and what are you doing with my girl?

I raise my eyebrows as I read it and wonder when I became ‘his girl’.

“Do you want to have some fun with him?” Bradie asks me.

“Yeah sure” I tell him.

He lies down on the rug and then tells me to lie down and put my head on his chest and look up so he can take a photo of us together. Bradie tells me Andy is going to crack when he sees it.

I do as he suggest and smile and even wave as he’s taking the picture. He checks it and then adds a message to it and sends it.

“What did you tell him?” I ask Bradie.

“I just typed ‘guess’ and then sent it. He’s going to do his tits at me, you wait,” he tells me.

Sure enough, not even thirty seconds have passed when Bradie’s phone starts ringing. He smiles at me and winks before answering it.

“Hey brother Andrew, how are you on this fine day?”

I can’t make out what Andy is saying but what ever it is, he’s yelling it.

“Now calm down dear Andrew, we haven’t gone far away.”

I can hear more yelling and swearing and Bradie starts laughing before handing me the phone.

I put it to my ear in time to hear Andy say “don’t fucking tell me where the hell you are I’m going to trash your room and piss on every fucking drum you own.”

I start laughing and say, “Well, all you had to do was ask nicely.”

I hear Andy suck in a breath before saying “Elle, sorry I thought I was still talking to the dipshit. Where are you guys?”

I look at Bradie and he’s shaking his head at me, trying to warn me not to tell.

“Well, we’re at a park. But I’m new to the area so I don’t know which one it is really” I tell him.

“Okay, well what does it look like then?” Andy asks me.

“Um, okay, it’s got some trees, and some swings and some tables” I manage to get out before cracking up laughing.

“Elle, come on. Tell me where you guys are please?” begs Andy.

“Okay. We’re next to the lake, and honestly, I don’t know which park it is so I’ll hand the phone back to Bradie and he can tell you okay?”

“Alright, thanks, I’ll see you soon hopefully” he says.

“Bye Andy” I say before passing it back to Bradie.

“Bye Andy” Bradie says before pushing the ‘end’ button and grinning madly. “What did he say to you before?” he asks me.

“Something about trashing your room and pissing on your drums I think,” I tell him. He starts laughing as his phone rings again. He hits the ignore button and looks at me before saying “there’s only three parks next to the lake. I’m sure he’ll work it out.”

We lie back down and stare at the sky, ignoring the ringing coming from Bradie’s phone. I can hear the beeping noise made when a message comes in and I turn to Bradie and say, “aren’t you going to get that?”

“Nope” he says with a grin.

We start talking about the band and Shaun and how long he’s been with Brooke for. I ask Bradie if he’s ever had any serious girlfriends and he shakes his head at me.

“I’ve never really met anyone that I wanted to give that amount of commitment to before. I mean, I’ve known lots of nice girls and some of them could have been right for me but I’ve never had a connection with them. You know what I’m talking about right?” he says to me.

“Yeah, I know what you’re talking about alright” I say.

“When I first saw you and then met you, I have to be honest, I thought to myself that maybe you were someone I could feel that way about. It’s like we had a connection there and I still feel it, if I’m honest with myself. But Andy called dibbs on you first so I missed out” he tells me.

“Wait a minute here. What do you mean by that? Andy called dibbs on me?” I turn and ask him.

“Well, after we met I told him all about you. So after I had gone out, he went over to your house specifically to check you out because of the things I was saying about you. When I got home that afternoon he called dibbs. I didn’t actually tell him I was interested, just that I thought you were nice and pretty and I hoped you would stay in the neighbourhood for a while. I guess it was my own fault for not saying anything to him then and there.”

I was speechless. Bradie liked me. Oh hell.

Bradie sits up next to me and looks down at me. “I’m sorry for spilling that to you. It’s probably not what you want to hear at this stage in the game. But I think it’s only fair that you know that whatever happens between you and Andy, and you and I, I’m always going to be here for you.” With that he give my hand a squeeze, stands and heads to the playground where the kids are.

Oh crap. What do I do? I like Bradie, a lot. I don’t know if I like him in a romantic sense but it is possible. He’s such a sweet guy and is a great brother. He’s not a flake and he’s not a wild child. He’s like a giant teddy bear really.  He and Andy are so different that it’s confusing.

I sit up and look over to where Bradie is playing with the kids. He’s on one of the monkey bars showing them how to climb. I drop my head and hold it in my hands when I hear someone call out my name from behind me.

Andy had found us.

Chapter Eleven.

I can hear Andy approaching so I lift my head and glance in Bradie’s direction before turning around and watching him walk towards me. Bradie had noticed Andy’s arrival too and was now engrossed in teaching Chris how to use the see saw. I smiled up at Andy and he gave me a warm smile in return before sitting down next to me on the rug.

“Hey pretty lady, how are you?” he says to me.

“I’m good. Did you enjoy your sleep in?” I ask him.

He nudges my shoulder with his and says, “Yeah, had some sweet dreams too.”

I have a bit of a chuckle at him and raise and eyebrow. “Does that mean you wake up happy then?”

“Well I was until I discovered you were out with my brother,” he says whilst mock-frowning at me.

“Hey, I was out with two of your brothers, and my kids. You forgetting that bit are you?”

“True, true. Doesn’t matter now because I found you guys anyhow. I am sorry too about swearing in your ear before. Bradie just knows how to stir me up and he does it all the time.”

“It’s okay. I know you weren’t saying those things to me” I tell him.

Just then Bradie wanders over with Chris and says hello to Andy. Chris gives Andy a big hug and sits down on his lap. Bradie sits facing us on the rug and starts going through Chris’ bag. He pulls out a water bottle and hands it to Chris who eagerly takes it.

“So. Found us I see,” says Bradie.

“Yeah, no thanks to you asshat!” says Andy.

Bradie just chuckles and shakes his head. “Not my fault you slept in so long today.”

“I’ll have you know that when I got home from Elle’s last night I did some work on the new EP cover art. I kind of got a bit engrossed in it and before I knew, it was almost five am.”

“Wow, you do the cover art too?” I ask Andy.

“Well we all do bits here and there really. Bradie did the last single release and Shaun had the album idea. I get to do the EP this time,” Andy tells me.

“Yeah, we figured it’s time for Andy to do something worthwhile,” says Bradie with a smile.

“Shut up dipshit,” Andy says back to Bradie. At this, Chris slaps Andy’s arm and says “naughty.”

“Sorry my little mate. Didn’t mean to swear at Bradie” Andy tells Chris.

Chris looks between Andy and Bradie and then looks to me. “Elle doesn’t swear,” he says in his cute little angelic voice.

Bradie and Andy both smile at that and Bradie pipes up with “looks like you’ve got yourself another admirer there Elle.”

I smile at Chris and hold my arms out to him. He gets off Andy’s lap and climbs into mine. I give him a big cuddle and then whisper in his ear “I do sometimes though, but grown ups are allowed. We are just not allowed to say it in front of little ears.”

Chris turns to me and then looks at my ears. “But you have little ears” he says out loud. This causes Bradie and Andy to look at my ears, and then come the remarks and comments about the size of my ears, and the fact that Chris’ ears are bigger than mine.

“They’re so cute!” says Andy. Bradie is reaching out towards me trying to flick my earlobe. Chris jumps off my lap and runs at Bradie. “Don’t touch Elle’s ears!” he yells at Bradie. Bradie grabs him and lifts him above his head and says to him, “it’s okay. I wasn’t going to hurt your girlfriend.”

“Hey, she’s my girlfriend too!” says Andy to Chris. Chris turns and charges at Andy and now they are play fighting over whose girlfriend I am.

Max and Lilly hear the noise and head over to the boys. Whilst they are distracted I stand and take the kids to the water fountain so they can have a drink. I look back over my shoulder and the brothers are still play fighting. Max and Lilly ask if they can join in and I tell them yes.

I watch them run back over and then I turn and walk down towards the lake. I let my mind wander and find I’m watching a couple on a paddleboat across the other side of the lake. I’m so engrossed in my thoughts that when Andy slips his hand into mine I jump and shriek.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says.

“It’s okay. I didn’t hear you coming actually. Guess I was lost in my head for a bit there.” I turn to him and quickly glance up to see where the others are. I can see that Bradie is folding the rug and the kids are all trying to help him.

“They’re heading home now,” Andy tells me.

“Oh okay. I had better go help then.”

“Well Bradie’s offered to take the kids home for us. I actually asked if he could. I wanted to show you something before I took you home if that’s okay?” Andy asks me.

“Will Bradie be okay with the kids?”

“Sure, he’s like a regular Mrs Doubtfire when it comes to kids” Andy says.

I smile at him then turn to see Bradie watching us. I wave at him and he flicks his hand at me as if to say ‘go on’.

I turn back to Andy and say, “Okay then. Where are you taking me?”

“Just down around the lake here a little bit.”

He moves towards the walking track and tugs me with him, keeping my hand in his. We walk quietly whilst looking at the water and the scenery that surrounds the lake. After about five minutes, Andy pulls me off the path towards a beautiful old tree that has a bench seat at the base of it. He sits down on the seat and pulls me down next to him.

“This is where I usually go when I need time to be myself,” he tells me. I look out at the water and realise that right across the lake is the neighbourhood where we both live.

“Do you come here often?” I ask him.

“Sometimes. It just gets crazy busy for me at times and if I need to stop and take a breath, this is where I go. It’s just so quiet here. It’s always quiet actually. I wanted you to see this spot too though. I want you to know that if you can’t find yourself, if you get a bit caught up in everything and you need time to yourself, you can come here too.”

I look at him and realise just how misunderstood this man is by everyone. I can see that he’s really very sweet and thoughtful, but I also see that not too many others get to witness this side of him.

“That is so very kind of you. Thank you” I say to him.

“Your welcome. I haven’t actually brought anyone else here before. So, you know, don’t got telling everyone hey?” he says with a wink and smile and I can see he’s back to ‘hiding behind humour’ trait.

I realise that I really want to kiss him again and that I don’t want him to close himself up again. “Bugger it,” I think to myself and lean forward and put my free hand on his cheek. His grin suddenly disappears and he realises what I’m asking him for. He leans towards me and that familiar fire in my chest re-ignites when our lips touch. This time, he deepens the kiss and opens his mouth to mine. I readily accept his probing tongue and languish in the passion that I feel for this man.

It feels like minutes have passed when in reality, it was probably only a few seconds. We pull apart and I take a deep breath. He holds his forehead to mine and I fear he can hear my heart beating.

“I like you Elle. A lot. I just, well, I wanted you to know that I respect you and I know we need to take this slow. I just don’t want to screw it up.”

I smile back at him and marvel in this soft side that he is allowing me to see.

“I like you too Andy. A lot,” I say with a smile before reality comes crashing back to me, like always. “But, I need to be getting back to the kids. I can’t leave Bradie with them for too long, I feel guilty when I do that.”

“Yeah, I figure that” he says. He then leans forward and gives me one more soft kiss before we stand and head back to the playground.

Chapter Twelve.

When we get back to the car, Bradie has already left with the kids. Andy unlocks the door and holds it open for me to climb into the passenger seat.  He closes it behind me and go around to the driver’s side and gets in. He starts the car and we pull out of the car park and head towards home.

I glance over at him and notice he’s frowning slightly, like he’s trying to solve a problem of some sort. He looks over at me and sees me watching him.

“You okay?” I ask him.

“Yeah, fine. Just thinking, that’s all.”

I leave him be and let him think to himself. Nothing is more annoying to me than trying to solve something in my head with someone talking in my ear.

About half way home, Andy clears his throat and says, “So I was wondering if you want to come to this 21^st birthday with me tonight?”

I wonder whether I should mention that Bradie had already asked me and decide quickly against it. I definitely don’t want to be the cause of any arguments between these two.

“Thanks for asking but I think I’m just going to stay home and spend some time with the kids. Maybe watch a movie or something.”

“Really? You don’t want to come out? Mum and Dad would look after Max and Lilly for you, I’m sure” he says to me.

“No really, it’s fine. I should be preparing for my job interview on Monday too so I think a little quiet time at home will be good.”

“Okay then. It won’t be as fun if you’re not there though” he says with a grin.

“I’m pretty sure it will be fun with or without me there” I tell him.

He shakes his head as we pull into his driveway.

We both hop out of the car and walk up to the front door. Andy holds it open for me and I walk though to the kitchen to find the kids all lined up at the bench whilst Sarah is pouring cordial into cups for them all.

“Hi Sarah” I say as I enter. She smiles and says hello as Max and Lilly both turn and say “Hi Mummy.”

Andy wanders over to his mum and kisses her cheek. “Hey Mum” he says as he goes to the fridge and pulls out a can of coke. He holds one up and nods his head at me.

“No thanks Andy” I say to him.

“Elle doesn’t drink that crap Andy” Bradie says as he walks in behind me and goes to turn the kettle on. “Coffee?” he asks me.

“Um, no thanks. I should probably get these kids home soon and cleaned up for dinner actually” I reply.

“Are you going out with these two tonight?” Sarah asks me.

“No I’m staying in tonight. I have a few things I have to get done.”

“You know, anytime you need a babysitter, I’ll gladly help you out, you know that don’t you?” Sarah says to me.

“Thank you. That’s really kind of you. The same goes for you too. Chris is just the most gorgeous little angel,” I tell her. “I’ll gladly watch him for you, anytime.”

“I’ll remember that” she says with a smile.

Andy walks back over to me and puts his hand on my lower back. “Have you got time to come and look at something with me?” he asks.

I can see Bradie out of the corner of my eye watching our exchange.

“Um yeah I guess. Will the kids be okay for a minute?” I ask Sarah.

“They’ll be fine,” Sarah tells me.

“Come on Elle” says Andy taking my hand and dragging me down the hallway to his room. He pulls me inside the door and I have to fight to keep the gasp from escaping my mouth. His room is a huge mess. There are guitars, papers, clothes, plastic bags and who knows what else lying all over the floor. Andy has the good sense to look at me with a blush and a bit of embarrassment showing on his face. “Sorry about the mess. I’m not normally as bad as this, I’ve just been a bit distracted for the last couple of days” he says.

I give him a half smile and hope like hell that there’s nothing alive in here.  He tells me to sit on his un-made bed as he sits down at his desk and starts his laptop up. “Honestly, I’m not usually this messy. There’s this girl you see, she’s got me pretty infatuated at the moment and I can’t seem to concentrate on anything,” he says with a cocky little grin.

“Okay, you know the mother in me is just fighting to at least make your bed at the moment?” I say, trying not to succumb to that sexy little smile of his.

“Please don’t. I promise this will be spotless the next time you come in here. I didn’t plan on bringing you into this cesspit at all actually but I thought I might show you the cover art I was working on last night. See what you think?” he says.

“I’d love to see it,” I tell him enthusiastically. I’m curious to know what skills this guy possesses.

He brings up the program and then clicks open a file. Looking back at me is that little angelic face of Chris’ taken in a black and white pose. It’s obviously been altered with the contrasts and shadows but it’s simply beautiful. “Wow, did you take that?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I was mucking around a few weeks back taking some shots and Chris had just woken up so I thought I’d take a few of him while he was quiet. This was the best one out of them all. I was showing Bradie and he suggested maybe using it for the new EP. I just played around with the contrast a bit and put some more shadows in it. What do you think?”

“That is a beautiful photo. He looks like a little cherub, so innocent” I tell him.

“Yeah that was part of the appeal of this particular one. It kind of fit with the new single. I’m going to add a bit of text up here in the deep shadow too. So you like it then?”

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous. You are just so clever” I tell him.

He stands as he smiles down at me and moves towards me on the bed. He leans over me and I instinctively lean back a little on my hands. “So you think I’m clever hey?” he asks me with his smug grin firmly in place.

“Well, yeah, I said that. But I also think you have cleaning issues too” I say to him with a cheeky grin.

He leans even closer and I have to choose whether to stay in my current position or lay down completely. I decide to hold my own and see what he does. He moves closer and kisses me gently. I feel his hand come to the back of my head and his tongue graze my lower lip, as there is a knock on the door. We break apart and turn towards the sound to see Bradie standing there.

“Sorry to interrupt but Lilly is asking for you Elle,” he says looking between us.

I hear Andy mutter under his breath and I’m immediately flooded with embarrassment at the situation. “Thanks Bradie, I’ll be right there,” I tell him.

Andy stands back up and I hop off the bed to follow Bradie back out to the kitchen.

I can hear Andy behind me as I enter the kitchen. “What’s up pumpkin?” I ask Lilly. She tells me how her brother was being mean and as I’m listening I glance at my watch and see it’s already after 5 pm.

“Okay, I think it’s time to get you two home and cleaned up before dinner,” I tell the kids.

“Thanks for looking after them this afternoon” I say to Bradie.

“My pleasure Elle” he replies.

“I’ll walk you home” says Andy.

I herd the kids out the front door and say goodbye to everyone. Andy walks with his hand on my lower back and it feels comforting.

“Hey, have you got your phone on you?” Andy asks me.

“Yeah, sure, why’s that?” I ask as I pull it out of my back pocket and hand it to him. We reach the front door to my house and I unlock it to let the kids inside. “Go and start a bath please Max,” I yell to him.

Andy’s phone starts ringing and I realise he’s just called himself with my phone so he could get my number.

“All set now,” he says as he hands my phone back to me. “I put my number in there for you too. Feel free to phone or text me anytime okay?” he tells me.

“I will” I reply.

“Okay, I have to go and get ready for this party so I’ll talk to you later on maybe?” he says.

“Yeah sure. I might have an early night so if there is no reply, don’t think I’m ignoring you. I always turn my phone off at night.”

“Okay” he says and leans in to quickly kiss me before turning and heading home. “Bye.”

“Have a good night,” I say to his retreating form.

I turn and go into the house to see what the kids are up to. I can hear the water running in the bathroom and I go and check on Max before heading to Lilly’s room. She’s lying on her bed looking at a book. I ask her if she wants to go get some fish and chips for dinner and she smiles and nods. I go back and check with Max before finding a phone book to ring the local shop and put the order in.

Twenty minutes later I have the kids in the car and we head down to the local fish and chips shop to pick up our order. We have the music playing pretty loudly and it was Max’s turn to pick the CD this time. He chose Good Charlotte’s Young and the Hopeless album. We sing the songs at the top of our voices and passing motorist give us odd looks. When we return home and pull up the driveway, Shaun’s car is out front and he’s standing there with a beautiful woman, who I assume to be Brooke. He waves me over so the kids and I head to the fence where we meet Shaun.

“Hey Elle, how are you?” Shaun asks me.

“I’m fine Shaun, and you?” I reply.

“Very well thanks. This is my girlfriend Brooke, Brooke this is Elle, a friend of Andy and Bradie” Shaun says.

“It’s nice to meet you Elle,” says Brooke.

“You too” I say.

“You’re not coming out tonight?” Shaun asks me, just as I hear a door open and Bradie and Andy’s voices arguing.

“No, having a quiet one tonight.”

“Looks like Bradie will be babysitting Andy tonight then hey?” he laughs.

“Yep. He’ll have his hands full,” I reply just as Andy and Bradie come up to us.

“Hey Elle, hey kids” says Bradie whilst Andy reaches over the fence and brushes my hair from my eyes before saying “hey”. It’s quiet an intimate thing to do and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Everyone is practically staring at him, including Max and Lilly. 

I take a step back and say “well, we better get inside, our dinner is going cold. Have a great night guys.”

They all say goodbye and head to Shaun’s car whilst I turn and take the kids inside. I look back over my shoulder as they drive down the road and wave.

After dinner is eaten and the dishes are done, the kids and I settle on the couch and watch one of our favourite Disney movies, Mary Poppins. Whilst the kids are engrossed in the movie, I let my mind wander to recent events.

Andy and I seem to be getting closer, all be it, slowly. I think about how to handle the kid’s reactions to seeing me with another man. Especially since it’s a man they’ve seen dozens of film clips of and heard their mother gush about how cute he is. The more I think about it, the more I wonder what the hell he is interested in me for. I’m a mother for goodness sake. A divorced mother to boot who has so much baggage she needs a removal truck to carry it all.

I have nothing to offer the guy. Really. It’s not as though I can follow him around, go out partying all night, go on tour with him. I’m a mum with big responsibilities. I can feel the anxiety starting to build and realise that if I don’t stop soon I’m going to have an anxiety attack. I take deep breaths and start to focus on what’s happening around me. Both of the kids are asleep and I glance at my watch to see that it’s well past nine.

I stand and stretch then carry the kids, one at a time, to their bedrooms and put them to bed. I go back out to the kitchen, stopping on the way to grab my laptop and decide that I really need a drink. I get a glass from the freezer and some ice and poor myself some of my favourite scotch, Glenfiddich. I swirl the liquid over the ice several times to cool it before taking a sip.

Feeling slightly better, I open my laptop and bring up Google. I do a search for Andy’s name and any associated girlfriends. Up comes Grace, Gemma, Jemma, Cassandra, Brookelle, Cody, Helen, Jess from the Veronicas and even a Sarah. Good old Google. Way to feed my insecurities!

So I could read into this two ways really. I could either think he gets around, quite a bit or he really hasn’t had a girlfriend and everyone is just making crap up. I shake my head at myself and feel disgusted. If I want to know something, surely I can ask him. If anything, we are friends.

At that moment, my phone vibrates on the bench and I reach over and pick it up. Bradie has sent me a photo of him and Andy holding up drinks waving hello. It looks like there are heaps of people in the background and the party looks to be in full swing. As I’m holding the phone, another text comes through and it’s from Andy this time.

Having a good time but miss you heaps. Bradie raided my phone for your number too. Sorry bout that x

I quickly type out a reply and send it back.

That’s okay. Glad you’re having fun.

I pick my drink up again and take it out the back with my phone in my other hand. I sit outside at the table and relish the stillness tonight. There’s no moon and the stars are really bright. I start thinking back to the Google search and wonder again what it is he sees in me. I’m not outstanding to look at, just average really, I’m not overly funny or sexy or even outgoing. I’m practically the opposite of that Veronicas girl, the only one that I know of that I can use as a comparison. She could make practically anyone feel inferior. If that was the sort of girl Andy liked, then I was completely clueless as to why he’s taken an interest in me.

Drinking the last of my scotch in one gulp, I decide that I’m going to need another if I’m going to sleep tonight. I get up and go into the kitchen to refill my glass. When I come back out my phone is buzzing again.

I really do wish you were here. I can’t stop wondering what you’re doing tonight without me. x

Messages like this from Andy confuse me even more. He must be getting drunk, I decide. I type back a message telling him I’m drinking alone, in the dark, whilst contemplating life and send it to him.

Now I wish I was there with you. :( In the words of the Beatles “I wanna hold your hand.”

I type back: You are too sweet but stop texting me and enjoy your party. I’m going to bed soon so phone will be off. Nighty night, sweet dreams, talk to you tomorrow. X

Awww, okay, Nighty night and I will have sweet dreams… of you! X call you tomorrow; he replies.

I smile and turn my phone off. Standing I grab my empty glass and go inside to have a shower and head to bed to try to get some sleep. Hopefully that sweet scotch will keep my insecurities away for the evening so I can rest.

Chapter Thirteen.

I tossed and turned all night and ended up getting up at around five am. It was pointless trying to sleep anymore. I had horrible dreams all night about people whose faces I couldn’t see and they were trying to grab me. I kept singing out for help but everyone else ignored me.

As I walk into the bathroom to wash my face, I can hear a car coming down the street and stop out the front of my house. I creep to the front living room window and have a sneaky look outside. I can see Shaun and Bradie dragging Andy from the car and carrying him inside. He looks as though he is passed out.  Must have been a blinder of a night.

I go into the kitchen and make a cup of coffee and turn my phone on.  As I’m taking them both over to the couch my phone suddenly starts vibrating with text messages. Seems like Andy has given my number to who I assume is Shaun as well. I am now looking at a picture of Andy’s bare bum lying on the floor of what looks to be a kitchen. Bradie is standing over him about to pour something over his head. I look at the next message and then the next as well. Seems that they are all photos of things they do to Andy when he’s drunk.

I go to the inbox and scroll through my messages, there’s 9 in total. One is from Andy; looking at the time he sent it I must have just missed it when I turned my phone off.

Can you come and get me maybe? Or send a taxi for me please? I want to be there with you. X

Probably a very good thing I turned my phone off. Especially with the way I was thinking last night. I might have said or done something stupid.

I quickly go through the other photos and messages and delete the obscene ones in case the kids look at my phone.

There’s a message from Bradie too at about 3 in the morning.

Please note I am the ONLY sober person here and it’s boring as sin without anyone keeping me company. Is my loneliness conveying through this message?

I laugh at that one and decide to save it.

I put my phone down and decide to not look at it for the rest of the day, unless it rings of course. Which makes me remember that I should be calling my parents too. I finish my coffee and start doing some chores around the house. I’m in my bedroom trying to find an outfit to wear for my interview tomorrow when Max comes in and sits on my bed. Lilly is right behind him so I ask them both what they think of the shirt and skirt I have picked out.

They both like it so I hang it up and herd them out to the kitchen so we can have our Sunday morning pancakes and decide what we are going to spend the day doing. Sunday has always been family day in our household, something my ex-husband initiated but I have continued it so that I can stay close to the kids.

After we have eaten, Max and Lilly decide they want to go to the beach. We haven’t been since we moved and they loved the beach back at our old home, so the beach it is.  I hustle them off to get dressed and to find their swimmers and towels.

They bring them all back to me and I put them in a big beach bag with some drinks and food as well. Ten minutes later, the car is loaded and we are on the way to the beach.

When we get there, there’s hardly anyone around so we find a spot near some trees for a bit of shade and lay our blanket down. The kids are eager to get in the water so after slapping on the sunscreen and hats we head into the cool ocean. Both Max and Lilly took swimming lessons previously so they are both confident in the water. We stay close to the shoreline anyhow and sit in the waist-deep water for a while.  When we are thoroughly wrinkled we hop out and go in search of something to eat.

Time passes quickly and when I look at my watch it’s almost lunchtime. The kids have almost finished their sandcastle city that they are building so I decide to take the time and check in with Mum and Dad. I speak to them for a little while and tell them about my job interview tomorrow. They both wish me luck and then I put the phone on speaker so the kids can say hello too. They talk about school and about the next-door neighbours and the beach. They both know they aren’t suppose to tell Nanna and Grandad where we are but I’m always listening, just to be sure they don’t accidentally say something.

After they hang up, we pack everything back into the car and walk to the local ice cream parlour to get a couple of ice cream cones. We sit out the front of the parlour and watch the cars drive by. The beach has gotten busy now as the day heats up and everyone is up. I ask Max and Lilly what they want to do this afternoon and they both suggest a swim in the blow up pool. I wonder where I might have put it and tell them that I’ll have to have a look for it when we get home.

With our ice creams finished, we walk back to the car and start the drive home. It’s just after one pm when we get there and I take the kids around to the back yard to hose off the sand they brought home with them. They are running around squealing at the cold water and somehow, Max gets hold of the hose and turns it on me. Now it’s my turn to squeal. Holy crap that water is cold!

As I’m running away from Max to avoid the spray of water, I hear laughter coming from next door and turn my head to see Sarah and Bradie looking over the fence at us all.

“It’s really not that funny” I yell at them as I dodge the water again. Bradie is laughing harder and Sarah is shaking her head. “A little help would be nice,” I say to them.

Bradie’s head disappears and soon he’s sneaking up behind Max to grab the hose from him. “This looks like fun” he says to Max. My son has the decency to look scared and turns and runs from Bradie. Bradie now laughs like an evil superhero and starts chasing us all with the hose. Lilly sneaks behind him though and turns the tap off, effectively ending his reign.

“Awww, Lilly. I didn’t get to wet your Mum!” he says to her.

I look towards the fence and notice Sarah has disappeared. “And I didn’t get to wet your Mum either” I say to Bradie with a smile. “And you’re still dry too I see.”

Max grins and says, “Yeah, let’s wet Bradie!”

The panicked look on Bradie’s face is enough to make me shake my head and say “No Max. Enough water for one day I think. How about you grab the towels out of the beach bag so we can get dry and have some lunch?”

“Okay Mum” he says heading towards the table where I had dumped the beach bag.

He hands a towel to Lilly and holds one out to me. I’m soaked to the skin and my clothes are sticking to me. I have my swimmers on underneath but I’m sure as hell not going to take my clothes off in front of Bradie. I reach out and take the towel and try to dry my hair a bit and then wrap the towel around me.

“Do you want to stay for lunch Bradie?” I ask him.

“I just ate thanks Elle. I was wondering what you guys were doing this afternoon.”

“Not much I don’t think. Probably just some quiet time and maybe thinking about this interview tomorrow,” I say to him.

“Do you want some help preparing for it?” he asks me.

“Yeah that’s be great, thanks” I reply. “Come on kids. Put your wet clothes in the laundry sink please and then go and get changed okay?”

“Yes Mum” they reply.

Bradie follows me in the house and I leave him in the kitchen whilst I go and get out of my wet clothes and get changed.

When I walk back in the kitchen, he’s leaning against the bench watching me. I smile and ask, “Do you want something to drink?”

“Just water would be nice,” he says with a grin. I’m trying to work out if he’s being funny or not and he notices my hesitation. “Seriously though, a glass of water would be good.”

“Okay. So how is everyone this morning then? I saw you drag Andy’s arse into the house in the early hours of the morning. Was he that drunk?” I ask Bradie as I hand him his glass of water.

“He was wasted, more so than usual actually. I don’t know why he drank so much to be honest.”

“I got the photos too. Thanks for that. I didn’t need to see his bare arse you know,” I say to him.

He laughs at me and says, “just letting you know what you’re in for.”

I roll my eyes at him and start to pull out the bread to make some sandwiches for lunch. The kids come back into the kitchen and start raiding the fridge.

“Hey guys, get out of the fridge please, we’re going to have lunch in a minute” I tell them both. “Go and sit at the table and I’ll bring it over in a second okay?”

They both sit and Bradie joins them. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” I ask him again.

“Honestly Elle, I only just got up an hour ago and just had breakfast before I came over. I’m fine, really” he says.

“Okay” I say. I plate the sandwiches and take them over to the kids before grabbing mine and sitting down opposite Bradie.

“So I assume sleeping beauty isn’t up yet either?” I ask him.

“Definitely not. I’ll be surprised if I see him before tomorrow morning actually” he says. “The three of us are heading into Sydney tomorrow for another meeting with the reps. We’re trying to get the next tour sorted out.”

“Really? When are you aiming for?” I ask him.

“I think we’re looking at July and August at this stage. Maybe September. I guess it just depends on the venues and the label guys.”

“Wow. That’ll be fun for you guys. Do you like touring?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I do actually. But then again, nothing beats your own bed and your own room and even your family too. I seem to miss everyone when I’m gone” he says.

Max and Lilly have finished their lunch and I notice they are both bouncing around in their seats. “How about you two go and play on the swings out back? I’ll be out in a minute,” I tell them.

They both get up and put their plates on the bench and go out the back. I stand too and take my empty plate to the sink and stack the other plates with it.

“Want to come back outside?” I ask Bradie.

He stands with his drink in hand and follows me out. I go to the fridge and grab a can of diet coke and then sit at the table opposite him.

“Do you want to go through some interview questions?” he asks me.

“How do you even know what they ask in an interview? It’s not like you’ve ever really had a job interview before right?” I ask him.

“I cheated and Googled it” he says with a smile. That makes me think of my inner-battle last night after my googling debacle. No, don’t think about it. You’ll only get upset again, I think to myself.

“Okay Mr Webb. Fire away with the questions” I say to him.

Half an hour later and I’ve had enough of the interview practice. “Lets stop now hey?” I ask him. The kids are in the sandpit again building a sandcastle similar to the one we made this morning.

Sarah sings out to Bradie over the side gate and he gets up to go see her. Whilst he is gone I go inside to the bathroom and when I come back out he’s sitting at the table with Chris on his lap.

“Mum and Dad are just going to town for half an hour or so. Andy’s still crashed so I said I’d watch Chris for them” he tells me.

I lean over and smile and Chris and tickle his cheeks. “Hello beautiful” I say to him. “Do you often look after Chris?” I ask Bradie.

“Not much really. But I enjoy it anyhow. When I’m touring I miss out on seeing him and watching him grow so when I’m at home, I love spending time with him.”

I smile and ask Chris if he wants to play in the sandpit with the other kids. He nods and I take him over to them both. Lilly’s eyes light up and I can see that she adores this little boy so much. She must really miss her cousins too, I think to myself. Life deals some pretty hard hands.

I walk back over to Bradie and ask if he wants something else to drink. He shakes his head as I sit down. We talk quietly about our week ahead and touring and places we both have been. Just before four Sarah yells out over the fence to say she’s home. Bradie picks Chris up and says goodbye to us all before heading next door again.

I gather the kids and get them inside for an early night. After dinner we are sitting in the lounge room watching Bondi Rescue when my phone buzzes. I get up and go into the kitchen to see who messaged me.

Is it too late for me to come over? Please? Just for an hour. X

Andy. I hesitate. It’s getting late and the kids have school in the morning. But I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t want to see him. The kids will be in bed in another fifteen minutes so I guess after that would be okay.

Come over after 8.30 I’ll leave the front door open. Please be quiet though because the kids will be in bed.  

I look at the clock and it’s already 8.20pm. I go back into the living room and an ad is on so I tell the kids to go brush their teeth now so they can go straight to bed after Bondi Rescue is finished. I hear my phone buzz again and I grab it off the kitchen bench.

Okay. See you then. X

The butterflies in my stomach start at the thought of seeing Andy again. I know I have to talk to him soon about what is going on between us. It’s not even a week yet though and I feel like I’m jumping the gun on this. I mentally tell myself that I need to relax and just go with the flow for once in my life. Just wait and see where this ‘friendship’ of ours takes us. I’d really love to ask him “why me?”

As the credits roll on the TV I snap out of my daydream and usher the kids to bed. After I’ve said goodnight and kissed them both I go back out to the living room. Andy is already on the couch waiting with a big smile. “Hey” he says to me.

My smile is instant.

Chapter fourteen.

I hold a finger to my lips and silently beckon him to follow me with my other hand. We walk through the kitchen then out the back door to the patio. I go to the fridge and grab a beer out before turning to ask Andy if he wants one too.

He’s standing right behind me and I nearly scream in fright.

“Sorry” he says with a grin.

“You scared the crap out of me,” I tell him.

“Just wanted to say hello, properly” he says and leans towards me to kiss me.

I meet him half way and smile as we part. “Do you want a drink?” I ask him.

“Um no thanks. I think I’ll be detoxing for a few days.”

I giggle and say, “Have a seat. Bradie told me you were drinking more than normal last night. Actually, I watched him and Shaun drag your drunk ass from the car.”

“Really? How embarrassing. What were doing up that early anyhow?” he asks me.

“Couldn’t sleep. I had just got out of bed actually and I heard the guys pull up. You were out of it!”

“I don’t know what happened. Honestly. I was having an alright night, there were plenty of people I knew, I remember texting you a couple of times. Then things get really fuzzy and I can’t remember a lot after that. Did I text you and ask you to come get me?” he asks me.

“Yeah you did actually, but it was after I had said goodnight to you and turned my phone off.” I tell him.

“Ah. That’s why you didn’t reply. I thought I might have seemed a bit pushy or something.”

“Not at all” I tell him. “In fact, if I had have been awake I probably would have sent a cab to come and get you.”

“Really? You would have done that?” he asks me.

“Well, yeah. You’re like my weakness at the moment. It’s really hard for me to say no to you. All you have to do really is show me that cute little grin of yours and I fold immediately,” I tell him. “Oh I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have told you that. Now you’re just going to use it to your advantage.”

“I promise I won’t,” he says, with the grin firmly in place. I am done for. I put my head in my hands and groan.

“See, you’re doing it now and you know it’s going to weaken me and then you’re going to get whatever you want. Argh! ” I can hear him laughing at me and I shake my head and look up again. Andy immediately stops and tries to make a serious face. It doesn’t hold for more than two seconds and he’s busting himself laughing again.

I open my beer, take a mouthful and look out at the backyard while I’m waiting for him to compose himself.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Really, I’ll stop it now.” He reaches over and takes my free hand. “I’m serious. I’ll stop laughing and I’ll stop using the grin too.”

I glance quickly at him and see that his face is serious. I take another mouthful of my drink and look back at him.

“So you said before that you spoke to Bradie. When did you see him?” he asked me.

“He came over this afternoon just as we got back from the beach. Your Mum and Bradie heard the kids and I playing under the hose in the backyard and he came over and helped me prepare for my interview tomorrow.”

“Really? What would Bradie know about job interviews?” he said.

“He reckons he Googled it,” I reply with a smile.

“Sounds like he went to a bit of trouble to help you then” Andy says with a bit of a frown.

I nudge him with my shoulder and say, “you’re not jealous are you?” with a grin on my face to let him know I’m teasing.

“Nope. Not at all. I know I’m way better than Bradie,” he says with the grin back in place. “Not to mention sexier too.”

I laugh and shake my head at him. “So have you been sleeping all day?” I ask him.

“Pretty much. I got up around six I think, had something to eat and made it to the couch. I was waiting until I felt half human again before I tried to see you. I didn’t want to scare you off” he said.

“So you probably don’t want to know about the photos that Shaun and Brady sent me last night then?”

“What photos?” he asks me.

“Well, there were plenty of your bum, one of you drinking straight from the bottle, one of you in the toilet, there was one that looked like someone was going to pee on you whilst you were passed out. Do you want me to go on?” I ask him.

“Do you still have them?” he asks.

“No, I deleted them all. I kept the one you sent me of you and Bradie though at the start of the night. I couldn’t keep the others though in case the kids went through my phone.”

“Can I see it?” he asks me.

“I’ll show you tomorrow okay. I’ve got it on charge at the moment. That reminds me. Bradie said you were going into Sydney tomorrow for a meeting or something.”

“Yeah we are. Got to work out the tour and stuff.”

“Okay. I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner again?”

“I don’t think we’ll be back by then, sorry. How about I call you when we’re almost home and we can maybe see each other then?” he asks.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I was going to ask you something else actually. Bradie’s birthday is coming up and instead of having a big party he wants to go to dinner in the city with a few mates and family. I was wondering if you would come with me. You know, be my date for the night?” he asks me.

My smile is immediate and I reply “definitely. When is it?”

“His birthday is on the 22^nd but we’re going to go out for dinner on the Saturday night before hand which is the 19^th I think. Is that alright?”

“Really? His birthday is the 22^nd. That’s the same day as the twins.”

“Wow. What a coincidence. Are you doing anything for their birthday?”

“Not really. We don’t know anyone around here so we can’t have a party or anything like that. I thought I might take them out for dinner on their actual birthday. You know, let them pick what the want.”

“So you are free though for the dinner for Bradie though aren’t you?” he asks me.

“Yeah, I am. And I’d love to come with you,” I say.

“Great. And I think we might throw a little party at home on the Sunday for Bradie so you’ll be welcome to bring the kids over to that too. Just a BBQ or something.”

“Thank you. I’m sure they’ll love to come over.”

I glance at my watch and see it’s already quarter to ten. I look up at Andy and he says, “yeah, I know. You need some sleep for that interview tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry to cut the evening short but I really do need to sleep.”

“It’s okay. I understand. I should get a bit more sleep too really. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

We both stand and I walk him through the house and out the front door. I stand on the front step and he stands on the ground so we are the same height.

“Good luck tomorrow gorgeous. Text me and tell me how you went okay? I probably won’t be able to reply but I want to know how it all goes,” he says.

“Okay, I will.” I lean forward and put my arms around his neck as our lips meet. He slips his hands around my back and pulls me close to him. Fire is coursing through me and I can’t fathom how good this feels.  He deepens the kiss and I readily accept his passion.

We are both breathing heavily when we pull apart and say goodnight with promises to talk tomorrow.

I go to bed shortly after closing the front door and dream sweet dreams for once.