Suddenly You

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, what are we up to tonight? The Pier? Or do you want to hit the Portsea pub for a change, crash at Nugga’s place?”

Harry led the way inside. “Not fussed. Whatever tickles your fancy.”

Steve sat on the couch and propped his legs on the table, crossing them at the ankles. “You think that little blonde chick will be working at the Pier tonight? The new girl?”

“Who knows?”

“If I had to give her ass a score out of ten, it’d be eleven.” Steve laughed and took a pull from his beer.

Harry drank a mouthful of his own can, his head full of everything that had happened with Pippa. He wasn’t used to feeling guilty, and he didn’t like it.

“So, did you call that girl from last week yet?” Steve asked.

It took Harry a beat to drag his head out of his own thoughts. “Didn’t get around to it.”

Steve made a disgusted sound. “Dude. What’s wrong with you?”

“You want her number, it’s yours.”

Steve paused with his beer halfway to his mouth. “Seriously? You’re not going to call her?”

Harry shook his head.

“Bloody hell. Never thought I’d live to see the day. You losing it in your old age, mate? Having trouble getting it up?”

“Thanks for the touching concern, asshole, but everything is in perfect working order.”

Steve laughed and reached for the remote, flicking on the TV. “Did you catch any of the cricket today?”

Harry paused before answering, unable to shake the sense of unease dogging him. He felt like he was holding back. And it was because of Pippa. Because of how she made him feel, and—more importantly—because of what she’d said about Steve.

He grabbed the remote from Steve’s hand and killed the TV.

“Hey. I was watching that.”

“We need to talk. About Pippa.”

The look of comic outrage on Steve’s face disappeared as he put on his poker face. “What about her?”

“I told you about her car breaking down last week. Well, I wound up helping her out. Had her car towed to Dad’s and fixed the gasket head for her after hours.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Why’d you do that?”

“Because she couldn’t afford to have her car fixed, and she needed to get around.”

“Pity you’re not in the Scouts still. That’d earn you a merit badge for sure.” Steve lifted his beer in a mock-toast. “Here’s to Mr. Good Deeds.”

“I told Pippa that if she wanted, I’d let you know what had happened on her behalf. See if you couldn’t help her out, since she’s struggling at the moment.”

Steve leaned back in the chair and rested his right ankle across his left knee. “I bet she loved that.”

There was no mistaking the resentment in his tone.

“She told me not to. And when I kept pushing she told me you’d dodged paying child support for Alice, so she doubted you’d be helping with the car.” Harry didn’t say anything more, simply waited for Steve to set him straight.

His friend gave him a derisive look. “What? Is this the bit where I’m supposed to step in and defend myself? Sorry, mate, but I’m not playing that game.”

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