CHAPTER 18:
Wrong Places, Wrong Times
Mandy was really enjoying hanging out with Dale. They went for a swim at the domain pool and had the time of their lives. Dale was full of jokes and it seemed he had become very comfortable around her. Mandy felt the same way about him.
After their swim, they took a walk through the bushes beside the domain. He even took her hand as they walked and she couldn’t help but feel all tingly.
‘I really like you, Mandy,’ Dale said as they walked hand in hand.
‘I really like you too, Dale.’
They stepped over to a tree and both leaned against it, enjoying the tranquil surroundings. Birds and cicadas created a cacophony of sound around them and the sun glimmered through the leaves of the trees.
‘It’s so beautiful here,’ she said.
‘Beautiful like you,’ Dale said nervously.
Mandy smiled.
‘So, err… So, what does Rex say about us to going together?’
‘He doesn’t know yet. I’ve only told a couple of my girlfriends.’
‘Why haven’t you told him?’
‘Haven’t had the chance.’
‘What do you think he’ll say?’
Mandy giggled. ‘Don’t worry about it, Dale. He’ll be happy for us.’
‘You reckon?’
‘Yes. Gee Dale, he wasn’t my boyfriend, you know?’
‘What if he tries to… you know…’
‘Make the moves on me or something?’
‘Yeah.’
‘He won’t, he’s not like that. He wouldn’t go after another guy’s girl.’
‘He went after Holly Robinson.’
‘No, he didn’t actually go after her, it just sort of happened. They didn’t mean it to and he felt really bad.’
‘What if it just… sort of happens between you and him?’
‘It won’t! I won’t let it happen. Regardless of what people think, I’m loyal to my guy. If you’re my guy, then I’m loyal to you, you got it? You need to trust me.’
‘I guess.’ Then he smiled. ‘So, we really are a couple then? Casterton vs Adams?’
‘No way!’ She smiled cheekily. ‘Adams vs Casterton. My name comes first, ok?’
Dale chuckled. ‘Ok.’
They both burst out laughing.
Dale reached out to touch her face and stared into her eyes. For a moment, she felt funny. It had only been earlier that afternoon that Vanessa had done the same thing, but at least this time it was a boy she fancied. He leant forward to kiss her, but then the sounds of voices and feet crunching on leaves and stones came from deeper in the bush. Their first kiss would have to wait. At least for a few minutes.
Mandy was very surprised to see Rex appear amongst the trees, walking in their direction, his arm around Chelsea. For a moment, Mandy couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy come upon her, but then she reminded herself of whom she had beside her. She had a man who was dedicated to her and she was sure she’d never have to worry about seeing one of her friends, under his arm.
‘Fancy seeing you two here,’ Chelsea greeted them cheerfully.
Rex had a broad smile and didn’t seem to mind seeing her with Dale. Not that she thought he would. He was not the type to have double standards. ‘So, what do we see here? Is this Casterton vs Adams?’
‘Adams vs Casterton.’ Mandy grinned.
‘Ahhhh, I see.’
Dale said nothing. When she looked at him, she didn’t think he looked very pleased. He was either annoyed at being interrupted or felt uncomfortable with Rex being around.
Rex winked. ‘Well you two take care, alright?’ The two moved away.
For a moment, both Mandy and Dale said nothing until Mandy broke the silence. ‘You ok, Dale?’
‘Yeah,’ he replied, but then frowned. ‘What was he doing here?’
‘Walking with Chelsea.’
‘Seems rather strange that he should turn up here just when we were.’
‘I don’t think it’s a conspiracy or anything.’
‘You sure? Maybe he saw us go in here and wanted to check on us.’
‘I doubt that.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘He’s not like that.’
‘I sure hope you’re right.’
‘I am. You’ll see.’ She took his face in her hand and guided it to face her so they were eye to eye again. ‘Now, where were we?’
Dale smiled. ‘Right about here…’ He leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
Mandy would have loved to have stayed there in the bush with him, making out. If she had her way, she would, but Dale became worried as it came close to dinnertime. ‘I’m gonna have to go. If I don’t get home in time, I’ll be dead meat.’
‘Surely it won’t matter if you’re a little bit late?’
He gazed at her sadly. ‘You don’t know my parents. They’re not very understanding when it comes to breaking the rules. I really wish I could stay, but I can’t.’
‘That’s ok.’ She didn’t want to nag him and didn’t want him to feel she was pushy.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah. You go on ahead. I’m gonna hang around here for a bit.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. I’m in no real hurry to go home yet.’
Dale hesitated but then decided to go. They kissed one last time and minutes later, he departed. Mandy sat down and leaned against the tree. Despite the fact that Dale was no longer with her, she still felt good, happy just to sit there and relax for a while. She closed her eyes and smiled.
‘You look happy about something,’ came a female voice.
Mandy jumped and opened her eyes wide. She let out a sigh when she saw who it was. ‘Vanessa! Do you have to sneak on a girl like that?’
‘Sorry. But I wasn’t trying to.’
Mandy giggled, ‘You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing skulking through the bushes on your own?’
‘Just taking a walk. Needed to be alone for a bit. Needed a bit of peace and quiet.’
Mandy climbed to her feet. ‘Still thinking about Rex?’
‘He’s all I ever think about.’
‘This can’t be good for you. This…’ She then had second thoughts about saying it.
‘Obsession?’ Vanessa smiled wryly.
‘Yeah. I mean I can sort of understand it. I mean its Rex, right? He’s an amazing guy, but it can’t be a good thing, going to all this trouble to be with him.’
Vanessa smiled some more. ‘I guess that’s me. It’s who I am. I just can’t give up… although I did… once…’
‘You gave up on Rex?’
‘Never again.’
Mandy once again saw a chance to learn more about Vanessa and Rex’s relationship and was very intrigued by what Vanessa had just said. ‘What do you mean? What did you do? Did you two have a big fight or something?’
Vanessa stared at her for a few seconds, but didn’t answer her question. It seemed she didn’t want to share any more. Mandy didn’t push it, after all they hardly knew each other. ‘It’s ok. You don’t have to tell me.’
‘So, what are you doing out here all alone?’
‘Avoiding going home.’
‘Need some company?’
‘It’s ok. I probably should get going anyway. Gotta face the music sooner or later.’
Vanessa stepped closer to her and then much to Mandy’s shock moved right in and planted a kiss smack on her lips. It wasn’t just a friendly kiss either. It was more than that. She continued with it in a more passionate manner.
Mandy jerked herself free and took two steps back as quickly as she could. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
Vanessa paused for a moment as if regaining her senses. Then she turned her eyes up to the trees, closed them and gave a deep sigh. ‘My God, I can’t believe I did that.’
Mandy felt shaken. She didn’t know why exactly, perhaps it was just she was so shocked at what Vanessa had don
e. If there were any doubts in her mind before about Vanessa’s sexuality, there were none now. ‘Why did you do that for?’
‘I don’t know.’ Vanessa was unable to look her in the eye. ‘I just can’t help myself sometimes. I am so stupid.’
‘It’s ok,’ Mandy said, disturbed by her distress. ‘Just as long as you know I’m not like that. I like guys.’
‘Of course, you do.’ Vanessa closed her eyes again. Finally, she opened them and looked her in the eyes this time. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s ok. No harm done.’
‘I hope we can still be friends. I need some good friends at the moment.’
‘Of course.’
‘Are you sure? I mean, I haven’t just completely alienated myself, have I?’
‘No. I can handle it.’ Mandy smiled. She could see Vanessa was hurting and she didn’t want to compound it.
Vanessa let out a relieved sigh. ‘Good. Well I guess I should go and leave you in peace.’
She didn’t want her to leave just yet because really hoped Vanessa would tell her more about her split with Rex. ‘It’s ok. If you want to hang around and talk for a bit…’
‘No. I should go. Before I do anything else stupid. I need to pull myself together. I’m usually a lot more levelheaded than this, believe me.’ She forced a smile.
‘I believe you.’
‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Bye.’
Vanessa left and for a few minutes Mandy just stood there, still unable to believe what had just taken place. She was about to move away herself, when another voice called out from a few metres down the track.
‘You still here?’
It was Rex, but this time he was alone.
‘Hi Rex. Yeah, I’m still here. Chelsea gone home?’
‘Yeah, and so has Dale I see. Hey Mand, did you just see Vanessa come through this way?’
‘Yes, I was just talking to her.’
‘I thought it was her I saw wandering into the bushes. Is she ok?’
‘Well…’ She was tempted to tell him about the kiss, but then chickened out at the last moment. She figured it would just open up a can of worms, especially if it was something like that which had caused them to split. She had to admit that really was a possibility, although she didn’t figure Rex to be the type of guy who would be insecure if his girlfriend was bisexual. ‘She still seems to be pretty hung up on you.’
Rex sighed. ‘That’s why she shouldn’t be here. It’s why she should never have come to Te Arawa in the first place.’
‘So why did you follow her in?’
‘I guess I was just concerned.’
‘You really care about her, don’t you?’
Rex hesitated. ‘Am I that transparent?’
‘Well when you scare the hell out of one of your teachers just for trying to grab her arm… and then the incident with Jacqui…’
Rex smiled and let out a breath of air through his nose. He shook his head, still smiling. ‘Yep, pretty obvious, huh?’
‘So why won’t you let her in? If she means that much to you? Surely, whatever it was she did can’t be so bad? Can it?’
‘I’m sorry Mandy. I can’t talk about that.’
‘Why? You can trust me not to tell anyone. You know I would never betray you. No one would ever know.’
He was about to speak, when a twig snapped from off to their left. They both swung their heads to see what had caused it and caught a glimpse of someone trying to duck behind a tree.
‘Who’s there?’ Mandy called out.
‘Show yourself, douchebag!’ Rex added.
There was silence for a few seconds and then movement again as the eavesdropper stepped out from behind the tree. Mandy was horrified when she saw who it was.
‘So, you lied to me,’ Dale said. ‘You still want him, don’t you?’
‘Dale! What are you doing spying on us?’
‘I wasn’t spying. I changed my mind and came back to hang out with you some more. Then I saw you two there.’
‘We were just talking.’
‘Sure.’ A tear appeared in his eye. ‘Whatever you say.’ He turned and ran away through the trees.