“You need to go,” I said, the words slipping out from between clenched teeth.
“Why? Truth cutting a little too deep is it?” Alex said, his eyes holding mine.
“I’m not the one being an asshole.”
I didn’t even have time to react before he hit me. Truthfully, I never even saw it coming, it happened so fast. One minute Henry was between us, the next Alex hit me square in the jaw, knocking my feet out from under me. I landed on my ass, my teeth aching.
I sat there, watching, as chaos erupted around me. Vinnie went for Alex, tackling him to the ground in front of me. Henry tried his best to break them up, but they both had fifty years on him and it showed.
Still dazed, my jaw throbbing, I glanced up to see Maia, standing several metres away, by the entrance to the Whale Bay Reserve. She just stood there, watching the spectacle, before disappearing back up the path.
I blinked. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. Was it even her? It looked like her, but I couldn’t be sure. Was I seeing things? Maybe he hit me harder than I thought. My ears were still ringing.
“That’s enough!” Henry roared, in a voice I hadn’t heard since I was a kid.
I glanced back at Vinnie and Alex. It seemed to have the desired effect. Vinnie rolled off him and staggered to his feet, wiping blood away from the corner of his mouth. Jas went to him immediately, checking him over, mumbling something under her breath.
Bridget knelt down to see to Alex, but he brushed her off, scrambling to his feet and stalking away before any of us got a chance to say anything. She watched him for a moment, before turning to me.
“Are you okay darling? I’m so sorry,” she croaked, close to tears.
“I’m fine.” My jaw was still throbbing, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “And it’s not your fault, either.”
She helped me to my feet, and I let her. She touched my jaw, turning my face to the side so she could get a better look at me.
“You should get some ice on that,” she said gently, sniffing. “Come back to the house. I have an ice pack in the freezer and some arnica in the cupboard.”
I brushed her off gently, giving her a brief hug instead. “I’m fine. I need to go home, have some breakfast, get ready for work. But thanks.”
“Sure you’re okay, bro?” Vinnie asked.
“No worse off than you.” I tried to smile, shrugging. He didn’t look too bad, and I knew he could handle himself. And, secretly, I was hoping he got a few good punches in while they were down there. “I’m gonna go back to the car. I’ll meet you guys there, okay.”
I didn’t wait, heading off towards the steps back up to the street. I needed a few minutes to get my head together. If Alex was still there, there were a few things I had wanted to say to him while we were alone. Unfortunately, once I reached the top of the steps and looked up along the road to where Alex had parked his car, it had gone.
I rubbed my jaw tentatively.
Happy birthday, Em.
THAT NIGHT, I STOOD near the window of the café, taking in the scene. Bridget, Jas and Maia had really gone to town, dressing up the café like we were in some kind of sci-fi B-movie.
Hundreds of dark blue fairy lights were draped across the ceiling and down the walls, covering the windows and lending a surreal atmosphere to the room. The floor had been cleared of most of the tables, except for the feature surfboard table in the middle of the room that was acting like a buffet table tonight, and a few smaller tables that hugged the outside of the room. Large black balls, made from what looked like scrunched up tissue paper, hung from the ceiling at varying levels, like planets. The whole effect was bizarre, yet strangely relaxing. Definitely not my cup of tea, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t my party, it was Vinnie’s, and he looked like he was enjoying himself. This was going to get messy. Very messy.
I took another sip of beer, ignoring the dull ache in my jaw from this morning’s little altercation with Alex. Food was piled onto the surfboard table in the centre of the room, with the usual suspects hovering around it. Jasmine was in her element, playing the perfect hostess, full of smiles and working the room like a pro. Even eight and a half months pregnant, and after spending a couple of hours helping Bridget and Maia set this whole thing up, she still looked relaxed and radiant. She seemed to make people feel at ease without even trying. It was her gift, one she and Em had shared.
She was dressed as a ballerina, her pink leotard showing off her sizable belly, with a matching pink tutu worn low around her hips. She usually wore loose clothing, and it was the first time I’d really seen her baby bump. She looked distorted, like she’d swallowed a basketball. It was a bit of an eye-opener, yet somehow, she still managed to look cute.