“Simon, don’t!” Dec yelled to no avail.
Simon jumped off before it crashed into the brick wall opposite with such force that it bounced back, narrowly missing him, and wedging shut again.
“Perfect dismount!” Simon crowed. “That’s a ten from the Russian judges, can you believe it?”
“How much has he been drinking?” Micah asked Dec.
“Would you believe only three beers during the course of the game?”
“At least he’s a cheap date,” Micah shrugged.
“Who said I’m cheap?” Simon grabbed Micah and strangled him in a passionate bear hug. “I’ve missed you, Micah Johnson!”
“Really?”
“Really.” Simon nodded. “You’re our little project, now grown wings and flying. In fact, one could say, you’re the wind beneath our wings.”
“I’m really not. And please don’t start singing.”
“Let’s get him some coffee,” Dec said to Micah.
“Coffee!” Simon’s eyes brightened at the thought. “Is there a place in Perth that actually sells coffee?”
“You fucking Melbourne snob,” Micah said.
“Well, you do have lots of Maccas, so I guess you can get coffee there. But then again, McDonald’s coffee, blurgh.”
“Maybe we could just leave him here,” Micah suggested.
“Somebody has to make sure he doesn’t antagonise the locals,” Dec said. “I would like him to come home in one piece.”
ONCE THEY got some coffee into him, Simon began to sober up. “I think someone put something in my beer,” he groaned.
Micah had driven them into the café strip in Leederville. He and Dec had gotten a bit of attention on the street, so they found the darkest corner in one of the least inhabited coffee shops so they could get some peace.
“No, you’re just a Cadbury Kid,” Dec told Simon.
“I refuse to believe three beers did that to me.”
“You’re right, somebody obviously spiked your drink,” Micah said.
Dec threw his hands up in the air. “Okay, I admit it! It was me! I did it so I could have my wicked way with you later tonight!”
Simon grinned. “You don’t have to spike my drink in order to do that.”
“Ugh, time out,” Micah protested. “Impressionable teenagers present.”
“You were never impressionable,” Simon pointed out. “And you’re not even a teenager really. Okay, you’re eighteen. But that makes you officially an adult. You’re a big boy, now!” He winced. “That sounded wrong.”
“So wrong,” Dec agreed.
“What made you want to come to Perth, anyway?” Micah asked Simon. “I mean, Dec had to. It was his job. You didn’t have to suffer so badly.”
“Ah, Perth’s not that bad. I’ve discovered spearmint milk. Who would have thought minty milk could taste so heavenly?”
Micah leaned in excitedly. “It’s pretty good, actually!”
“Gross,” Dec said. “It tastes like somebody dumped a tube of Colgate in your milk.”
“I seem to remember you liking Blue Heaven,” Micah reminded him. “That’s worse.”
“Yeah, don’t go pointing any fingers at spearmint milk,” Simon said, “lest you… find… the finger pointed back at you?” He trailed off. “Some things sound better in your head.”
“And in your case, a lot of the time.”
“You guys still haven’t answered my question,” Micah said.
“There was a question?” Simon asked.
“I think you need another coffee,” Dec said.
Micah didn’t think it was the best idea to replace an alcohol buzz with a caffeine buzz, especially when it came to Simon Murray. “The reason why you’re both here,” he prompted them.
“Oh, that,” Simon said. “Just a little holiday.”
Declan nodded.
They were being a little vague. “Where?”
“Albany,” Simon said. “I saw something about it online. I know it’s the wrong time of year to see whales, but we can come back in winter if we want. I like whales.”
A look passed between Simon and Dec, a hint of some shared memory Micah wasn’t privy to.
“Yeah, whales are cool.” Dec grinned.
“But, I mean, the rest of Albany looks great too. I love the coast. All those rocks and water. Like something out of a Bront? novel.”
“Don’t they usually end badly?” Micah asked, remembering vaguely that both lovers died at the end of Wuthering Heights.
“Not Jane Eyre,” Simon said.
“Um, a woman goes crazy and burns a house down and cripples the hero and makes him blind,” Dec reminded him. At Micah’s look, he got defensive. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to sit through a BBC production of some old book?”
“But Jane still ends up with him. And they’re very happy living in the remains of their home. I’m sure they ended up getting it renovated or something,” Simon reminded him. “And don’t try and save face in front of Micah. You liked Pride and Prejudice.”
“That’s Jane Austen, not Bront?. Jane Austen likes a happy ending. The Bront?s are dour and miserable.”
It looked like World War Three was going to erupt at their table, so Micah stepped in as the role of the UN. “How long are you going down there for?”
Crisis averted. “About a week,” Dec said.
“We’re going to take our time driving down,” Simon added. “See what’s along the way. Did you know Western Australia has the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere?”
“How exciting for them,” Micah drawled.
Simon threw a sugar packet at him. “Don’t be so snobbish, Micah! It would be even longer except a really bad storm washed part of it away.”
“Jetties and rocks,” Micah told Dec. “I don’t know how you’ll contain yourself.”
“I’m actually looking forward to it.”
That look passed between Simon and Dec again. Simon suddenly grew very interested in his empty cup of coffee and took off to get another one.
“Is everything okay?” Micah asked, not sure if he should butt in.
“Everything’s fine,” Dec said, and he obviously meant it. “We just have a lot of decisions to make, and Simon… well, Simon’s wanting to procrastinate just a little bit longer.”
That was something Micah could relate to. “I’m sure it will all work out.”