I half-turned to face them and glared. "I am. I have a footy match to get to."
I saw my dad's smile and my mum’s horrified face.
"That horrible thing is not a place for a lady to go. It’s full of barbarous bogans," she said, muttering the last word in absolute disgust. I saw my father smile. I had never heard her say it out loud like that.
"And I, for one, like it," I replied before turning around and heading upstairs.
"This is all your fault," I heard my mother snap at my dad as I was heading upstairs and rolled my eyes. My dad was the reason I loved football in the first place. He had taken me to my first live match when I was sixteen and I had fallen in love with the sport.
Walking up to 'my' room, I grabbed jeans and a blue top and quickly changed into them. I grabbed my scarf before heading back downstairs.
"What are you doing?"
I stopped in the corridor upon hearing Darius. He was holding a stack of business folders.
Of course, he was working on business, again. Did the man ever take a break.
“Going to the football match. Unlike some people, I keep my word.”
He scratched the back of his neck.
“We can go another day. I have work to do.”
“Oh no, you don’t worry. You can go another day. I have a team and I’m going today. And you? You can do your work,” I snapped. It took just one phone call for him to be back to his boring business self.
Men.
Grabbing my coat this time - never again will I forget that - I stormed out of the house. I didn’t know why I was so angry.
If it wasn't bad enough that both our parents decided to come visit us, he turned back to the robotic business freak.
Either way, I was going to the damn match.
Heading to the driveway, I beckoned for the driver to come over.
Who says one can’t enjoy a footy game by themselves?
I smiled as the halftime buzzer went down. Hell yes! We were leading by three full goals and that was enough to make me forget about the horrible family waiting for me back home.
But there was one thing I hated. The fact that the seats were not segregated according to the team being betted on meant that I was surrounded by enemy fans who were glaring at me like there was no tomorrow. I would and should say it’s only a game. But who was I kidding? It was much more than that.
So what did I do? I smiled smugly in my attempt to rub it in their faces.
The seat next to mine squeaked as someone sat down and I looked over and did a double take, astonished.
“What are you doing here?”
Darius looked at me with a raised eyebrow and held up his ticket. “Couldn’t let fifty bucks go to waste now, could we?” he said. “Now how does this game work?” He looked at the field as the players came back on.
I couldn’t help smiling and I turned my attention to him.
“Okay, this is how it goes,” I said, starting off by explaining the foundations to him. Half way his phone started ringing and I raised an eyebrow.
"Work's calling," I said, a bit annoyed that the ringing cut me off. He shrugged, waving a hand. "So the side ones are only worth one?" he asked. I nodded.
"Aren’t you going to get that?" I was referring to his phone.
He shrugged once again. "They can wait."
"Why don't you just switch it off then?" I asked, pretending to tie my scarf when I was really trying to hide the smile that was taking over my face.
"Then I won't know how many times they called, now will I?" he said, winking and leaning back in his seat. He placed a hand on the back of the chair behind mine and the one next to him. My heart had nearly stopped when he winked. Let me just say that that was the sexiest wink I had ever seen.
Oh god.
I looked away and realised that the people in our stalls were staring at him. I could tell the girls were clearly checking him out and the guys were sizing him up, seeing how their dates or girlfriends were looking at him. But I hoped it was because he looked so out of place in his little fancy business suit surrounded by people wearing their team colours.
"What?" he asked, looking at me. I realised I was glaring and frowning at him.
"You're wearing black and white," I said. He looked down, knotting his eyebrows. "And?" he asked.
"Our team is blue and white," I said, shaking my head and leaning back. I heard him chuckle and saw him shaking his head from the corner of my eye. Great, he looked like another Collinwood supporter.
I felt a tug around my neck and looked down to see my scarf slowly disappear. I looked at him as he pulled it on.
"What do you think you are doing?" I asked, grabbing the end and tugging it back.
"You said I needed blue," he said, pulling it out of my hands.
I bit my lip and shrugged
The game resumed. I yelled at the top of my lungs, shifting my attention as the players came out again. Oh, we are so going to win!
"I can't believe we lost," I groaned, standing up. We were leading by a massive margin and out of nowhere it had dropped.
"This is all your fault," I told him as he smiled, still sitting down.
"Mine?" he asked, pointing to himself.
"Yea. We lost the second you came. Till then we were winning!" I stated. The people sitting in front of us sent me smug stares and I resisted the urge to give them the fingers. It didn’t feel good with them rubbing it in my face.
"Maybe they just suck?"
I turned my attention to Darius. "You did not just say that," I replied, grabbing my bag off the floor. He stood up while buttoning his jacket, seeming all business–like again. "Maybe they had an off match," he said.
"They were doing fine till you came," I said, reminding him.
The crowd always took forever when leaving the bleachers.
"I still can't believe we lost," I said, looking at the other depressed Geelong players. We totally deserved it. I turned to Darius to tell him something but he beat me to it.
"I know, my fault," he said, his face easily cracking into a grin, and he put his hands up in surrender. I nodded. No need to look so smug about it.
Eventually we got out and I started walking to the car park.
"Where are you going?" he asked. I saw him reaching for my hand but he pulled back the last minute. Smart choice. I would have punched him square in the jaw. I was just not in the mood right now.
"Home?"
"The car's this way," he said, pointing toward the car park. I was surprised he even managed to find a spot, especially since he came in late.
"But the driv-"
"I sent him home," he said, shrugging. Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I followed him to the car park. I was actually surprised the guy even knew how to drive. Didn't he have drivers to drive him around?
I saw a group of Collingwood fans walking past us, making sounds and jeering at me.
"Oh shut up, you s-"
I felt a hand around my waist and mouth pulling me back and the guys started laughing. Damn him. I could have totally beat their asses, punched them to pulp. We were up by three goals, which meant eighteen points, and then the evil Darius had come.
I pushed him away and I stormed to the car.
"Please tell me our parents are gone," I said, getting into the passenger seat.
"They're gone," he said, closing the door. My eyes widened and I smiled. Oh my god, how on earth did he get them to leave? The door to the other side opened and I felt the rush of the cold air before hearing the door thud shut. I put on the seatbelt I turned to face him.
"Really?"
"No," he said.
I frowned, sitting back in my seat. Sheesh, way to bring a girl's hopes up. Wait. If my parents took my room, and his took the other room, where on earth would I sleep?
Chapter sixteen
My fears and doubts were confirmed when I stepped through the front door.
Our parents’ cars were still in the driveway, which did, in fact, m
ean that they were still here. Shit.
"I moved all your stuff before our parents saw," he said as he locked the door and I swore under my breath.
Great.
Please tell me there was a dog house he can sleep in so I can have the master’s bedroom.
"It's okay, you can sleep on the floor," he said, smirking, as he walked up the stairs.
Oh, thank go-
"What?" I yelled and realised I was a bit too loud and looked around waiting for our parents to come out of nowhere.
Making sure the coast is clear, I ran up after him and into his room, shutting it behind me.
"You have the floor. Ladies sleep on beds," I said.
What kind of gentleman was he? "Seeing as it's my bed, and you are no lady, I get to sleep on it. But there is plenty of space on the floor for you to choose from," he said with that smirk I really hated.
I huffed, clenching my fists, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Had he no sympathy? My team just bloody lost, mate!
"It's not your bed!" I said in fustration, giving one of the lamest defenses I could come up with.
He shrugged, walking over and grabbing a pillow and blanket and chucking them at me. I growled angrily and crossed my hands, letting the pillow and blanket fall to the floor. He couldn't possibly be serious.
"Since we both refuse to share, you can have the floor." He was taking off his jacket.
"Whoa, keep your clothes on." I covered my eyes with my hands.
"But I need to change."
I peeked between my fingers and saw that he stopped from undressing. The last thing I needed was this to become an R rated night. No, thank you, Darius. You keep your shirt on, I thought.
Is it just me or did someone heat up this room?
"Too bad. You don't change, I don't change," I said, bending down to pick up the blankets. I laid one on the floor and placed my pillow on one end and sat down. I can't believe it. He was really being serious. First he made me pack the car, and now he wanted me to sleep on the floor.
"You're going to sleep in jeans?" he asked and I shrugged. I have always never bothered to change. What was the point? Taking off my shoes and socks, I lay down on the hard floor and grabbed the blanket.
"Switch the light off," I snapped. I heard him mutter something under his breath before the light was switched off. I sighed and turned to my side. I have never in my life had the need to sleep on a cold floor where I was literally freezing.
Damn, I had left my jacket in the car. And there was no way this gentleman was going to hand me his. Note the sarcasm. I closed my eyes. Maybe I can get an ounce of sleep and I’ll wake up in the warm soft bed next door with the parents gone.
But somehow I felt that my parents...they were going nowhere.
Hurt. Pain. Sore. I hadn't even closed my eyes for five minutes before I was fully awake again. Sleeping on the floor hurt. Maybe it was because the blanket was thin and wasn't really supporting my shoulder blades digging into the floorboards.
"Stop making so much noise."
"Yea, well, you try sleeping on the floor," I retorted. All the moving and rustling was keeping him awake as well. Oh well, too bad. If I couldn't sleep, neither could he. Oh god, I'm cold. No pun intended.
I curled into a fetal position and sighed a bit louder, just to piss him off. I heard him mutter to himself. I smiled to myself as I moved around, making sure to make noises such as my feet thumping on the floor and my head hitting the floor. I had given up on the pillow and placed it under my back instead; the floor was much harder on my spine. After the sixth thump, I stopped. I was now getting a headache. I lay on my back and closed my eyes, wishing for sleep to take me.
Just as I moved again, there was a loud thump and I froze. That was not me. I squinted my eyes in the dark. I had this crazy image in my mind of a zombie coming out from under the bed. The thump was louder and I winced.
"That's not funny," I whispered, feeling my body shiver in the cold.
"What's not funny?"
"That," I said as I heard another sound that resembled the creaking of the door.
"I thought that was you," he said and I sat up looking around and grabbing my pillow. There were footsteps and I turned toward the door, waiting, and saw Darius switch on the bed lamp and sit up on the bed, staring at me.
"What on earth are you doing now?"
"Defending us from the zombie," I said quietly.
"Zombie?"
There were three knocks on the door and I shushed him.
"Ivory, it's me. Are you guys awake?"
"Yes. How do you know my name?" I called back and then mentally slapped myself. Who on earth replies to the walking dead? What a stupid idea.
"I'm your mother. Is it okay if I come in?"
"Of-"
"Get in bed," barked Darius in a hushed tone. I turned around, staring at him. He was sitting up and I could barely make out his silhouette in the dark.
"Excuse me?" I whispered back. First, he tells me to get out, and now he wants me in. Oh hell no, I was definitely not sharing a bed with him. Husband or not-
"They'll know something is up if they see you on the floor."
"Oh hell, naw.”
"What?" asked my mother from the other side of the door.
"Not you," I snapped.
"Aluminium, get in," he snapped, his tone changing into a harsh command. Businessmen, I grumbled, getting up. The door knob twisted and I grabbed the blanket and pillow and quickly jumped onto the bed just as the door opened. My breath got knocked out. Damn, I needed to get fit. I barely sprinted half a meter!
"Oh good, you both are awake," said my mother as she walked in and I stopped the urge to roll my eyes. As usual, she was dressed in a elegant gown, even at this time, and her hair was perfectly done as she walked in with something in her hands.
"Couldn't this wait till morning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not," she said, watching us both, her eyes taking us in and I knew she was checking up on us. Well ha! We look like the perfect happy couple. I looked at the floor to see my shoes and socks and cursed under my breath. Hopefully my mother wouldn't notice.
"What is that anyway?" I said, quickly diverting her attention. She handed me an envelope and I pulled it open. It was the invitation to Mrs. Alvin’s ball. Seriously, this couldn't wait till the morning?
"Okay, goodnight," I said. My mother nodded, still watching us, then turned around to leave as I placed the envelope on the bed side cabinet. The second she closed the door, I flopped onto the bed and sighed as the softness embraced me.
"Your turn," I said, pulling the blanket over me.
"My turn for what?"
"On the floor. I spent half the night, you spend half," I said.
"Hell no. It hasn't even been half yet. I'll wake you when it's your turn for the bed," he said, grabbing the blanket off me.
"Hey!" I protested as I made a grab for it.
"That's not fair. The floor’s hard," I said. I sprained a muscle in my neck and it hurt to even move it.
"Well, that's too-"
The door suddenly opened, cutting Darius off and surprising us both. This time, it was his mother who stepped in. We both exchanged looks.
"Is the heating working in this room?" she asked.
"Yes, mother. Is there anything else?" asked Darius as I simply stared. What was with them today?
"Oh, just checking, my dear. This room looked awfully cold," she said.
"We're fine," he said. She nodded, looking at us both.
"Well, get your sleep. We'll just check up on you and this room. It's awfully cold in this house."
Darius nodded. "No need to check up on us."
"Sleep tight, kids." She ignored Darius’ comment and closed the door. You have got to be kidding me.
"Yes, your turn on the floor," I said, lying down and spreading my hands and feet out to leave no space for him.
"No."
Ignoring his answer, I said, "Switch the
light off on your way down, too, yea?" I turned around to lie on my stomach. The light turned off and I settled in, ready to sleep, when I felt the bed dip. I sat up and stared at him, as though he could see my frown in the dark.
"Go away," I yelled, smacking his back with the pillow.