CHAPTER 2

ajay

It was the scent that hit me first, a hazy salty tang in the air that melded perfectly with the sound of seagulls cawing in the breeze and the waves crashing in the near distance. A haze of salty sea mist rose into the air along the stretch of grassy sand dunes.

The Tempe family's big white beach house was one of those magical places where the summer was endless and the days long. At least that was what it looked like as it sat bathed in the afternoon sunshine, the large, double-hung windows reflecting the brilliant golden glow.

I stepped out of Dane's BMW, my suitcase in tow as I stared up at the house he had grown up in that looked like something straight out of Hampton's Dream Homes.

The solid three hour road trip from Sydney along the Grand Pacific Drive down to the South Coast was tiring and I stretched my aching limbs, breathing in that fresh coastal air. Dane and I had taken the slightly longer scenic route rather than the highway which had added a little more time but was well worth it for the stunning vistas and the road that carved a path right along the cliff face of the Pacific Ocean.

Esperance was one of those charming seaside villages scattered along the coast with white sandy beaches filled with lagoons, secret coves and hidden inlets, and encased by leafy green national park on the other side. It was the kind of place that had a bustling local produce market, boutique shops, art galleries and amazing cafes and restaurants that catered mostly to tourists.

Having grown up in relative seclusion down in Tasmania, I had never been to this part of the country before. I had always felt like Sydney was too big for a country boy like me but out here on Dane's South Coast I felt like I could breathe again. Here where the white sands and aquamarine waters rose into the infinite horizon while oversized trees filled the atmosphere with oxygen. The air was warm and humid and I loved it already.

I sucked in a few lungsful of pristine air as Dane rounded the car and opened the boot. He handed me my guitar case as he pulled out his bass and the two of us strode up to the front wrap-around verandah to his family home.

Dane's mum, Linda, was already at the front door, a huge smile on her face as she took in her youngest son. I knew Dane didn't get down here to visit his family all that often, one thing we had in common with each other. But at least his parents were still in the same country as him for Christmas – well, at least for another day.

Dane drew his much smaller mum into a big hug before she turned to me, a welcoming smile on her face. They were so alike, Dane and his mother, both with big smiles and matching dark hair and dark eyes.

"You're very welcome, Ajay," she said as I stepped onto the front doormat.

"Thank you for letting me stay," I offered, bending down to give her a quick one-armed hug.

"Anytime," she beamed at me. "I'm sorry to hear your stepdad's mum is not well. I hope it's nothing serious."

"Thanks. I haven't heard any updates but I know my mum was worried."

"Well, let's hope for the best then," Linda said kindly, squeezing my arm as I stepped past. "I hope we'll be having some music from you both later on," she added, nodding her head at our instruments.

"If you insist," Dane shrugged like he had expected it.

"There you are," came another voice as Dane's dad, Eddie, came around the corner. Eddie had a head full of light brown hair that he kept close cropped but his light blue eyes contrasted with those of his second son. He enveloped Dane in a big hug and then gave me the same attention, instantly setting my mind at ease as he repeated the same welcome as his wife.

"We've set you up in the guest room upstairs, Ajay," Linda told me. "Dane can show you up."

"Thanks again," I added, following Dane up the stairs to the second level. The landing opened up to a long hallway bookended by doors at each end and a few more scattered in between.

"That's me," Dane said, indicating the door at the far right end of the hallway. "I have my own ensuite in there so the bathroom here will be all yours. And this is the guest room."

Dane stepped to the door in the middle of the hallway and opened it with a flourish. I stepped inside, my eyes instantly pinning themselves to the long window on the back wall that framed the Pacific Ocean.

"Wow," I couldn't help saying as I instantly made my way right to the view, ignoring the rest of the room.

"Yeah, not bad hey?" Dane smiled. "I'll let you get settled in for a bit and then I'll show you around, okay?"

"Sounds good," I replied, eyes still focused on the waves and the impressive contingent of surfers out on the water. This place was just stunning and a small part of me suddenly felt a guilty spark of happiness that this was where I would be spending my summer break. Don't get me wrong, there was no place like home and I would always be a Tassie boy first and forever. But even Tassie boys didn't mind a bit of surf and sun every now and then.

I finally looked away from the view and took in the cosy guest room that would be mine for the next few weeks. It was a good size room with a nice double bed with a sea green quilt cover, scattered with a set of fluffy white cushions. A small desk and a plump occasional chair were the only other furniture in the room other than the sizeable built in robe.

I unzipped my suitcase and hung up my clothes on the hangers and the drawers until I was all unpacked. Then I was straight back at the window, looking out at the scenery as my heart took a little sigh of relief.

This year had been full on for me, my first full year at university. Dane and I had both been accepted into the Sydney University Conservatorium of Music, both of us majoring in guitar. Music was what I had wanted to do my entire life. I loved it, absolutely lived for my guitar. Secretly I loved singing too but I wasn't as good at that so I tended to hide behind my guitar. Pursuing music was what had brought me to Sydney in the first place and I knew it was where I needed to be right now to get the best out of myself.

I had won a part scholarship for my place at the Conservatorium which was pretty much the only reason I had been able to survive living in Sydney with no parental support and only a part-time barista job to get me by. I didn't know what I would have done without Dane and his offer to move in with him when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to accept my place after finishing high school last year.

But I was discovering that the scholarship came with a few other strings attached, maintaining a high GPA for one.

I was the first to admit I had carried a whole lot of additional stress throughout the past year. Stress about grades. Stress about finances. Stress about balancing part time work with uni and practice and tuition. A little yet constant stress about how to end things with Kira.

I needed this break far more than I was willing to admit.

Dane knocked on the open door a few minutes later and I turned to find him smiling at me.

"Want that tour?"

"You bet."

Dane showed me the rest of the upstairs, the clean and very white bathroom that would be mine and the little study on the other side of my door.

"That's my idiot brother's room," Dane added, nodding in the direction of the only other door on this level before turning to head down the stairs. Right, it was going to be like that was it, living with all that brotherly history and rivalry when Linda and Eddie left for their overseas holiday in two days' time.

Downstairs was more of the same vibe of sparkling blonde hardwood floors, a beautiful, pristine white Hampton's kitchen, big windows and big beige furniture that all faced out to the main event – the ocean on the doorstep.

I barely even noticed the pool or the outdoor deck as I shucked off my shoes and followed Dane out the back. The Tempe's backyard blended seamlessly from manicured lawn to native grasses. The white sand of the beach was separated from the backyard by only a wooden public boardwalk as we stepped out onto the endless miles of beach.

The sun was low behind us, lending a few apricot and peach streaks to the sky and dotting the waves with gold. The sand felt like a dream under my toes as I sucked in the sea air and smiled.

"You are so lucky to have grown up here," I commented to Dane, chancing a glance at him as his eyes narrowed, that little v parting his forehead that meant something was up. I followed his gaze out to where he was looking, just in time to witness the guy emerging out of the sea, like some kind of golden chalice being offered to the gods, dripping in silver droplets of water.

My heart gave a deep, resounding thump in my chest. Now, I didn't spend a whole lot of my time ogling other guys but this particular one was really quite breathtaking, the whole moment vibing Daniel Craig's ocean scene in Casino Royale.

This guy had a nicely stacked rig too, not anywhere near as big as Daniel Craig but his bronzed skin and cut abs sure made up for it. He had a surfboard under his arm, long golden-streaked locks that made him look like some Greek god and a killer smile to boot. A killer smile that was aimed straight at us.

"Dane," the stacked surfer guy said as he sauntered towards us, that smile stretching across his stunning face, blue eyes glittering in the low light. Those eyes slid my way and I sucked in a breath as he flicked that gaze right down to the tips of my toes before landing back on my face. He cocked his head, that grin never sliding from his face. "You brought me a friend?"

"Fuck off, Nick," Dane replied. Oh, right. The brother. The idiot brother in fact. I glanced between the two of them, Dane with his pale skin and dark hair and his serious demeanour and this golden, glowing sunshine of a man with his long locks and a grin that was full of mischief. I would bet he was a real hit with the ladies.

"You checking for the family resemblance?" Nick asked, eyebrows raised. "Don't worry, I've already looked. There is none."

"Thank God for that," Dane muttered.

"Aw, little bro, don't be like that," Nick replied, stepping forward to cuff Dane around the neck, leaving droplets of seawater in his wake.

"Get off me," Dane grimaced, pushing his older brother away while Nick just sent that disarming grin my way again. I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to have some of those drops of water slide off his skin onto me. I shook my head, wondering where those weird thoughts had suddenly come from. Must have had too much sun.

"Glad to see a year at your fancy university hasn't changed you a bit," Nick said to his brother. "You must be Ajay," he added, turning the full force of that quizzical gaze back on me.

"Yep. Nice to meet you," I answered.

"You too, Ajay," Nick replied, holding his fist out for what I assumed was a fist bump. I awkwardly complied, not wanting to get this wrong for whatever reason. He seemed like one of those effortlessly cool guys and I was man enough to know I was feeling a little overawed, maybe a little starstruck in his presence. "I guess I'll be seeing you around. And whatever this guy has told you about me, don't believe it. Or maybe do. Who the hell knows?"

I let out a short laugh, ignoring Dane's scowl as I was no doubt caught out by the infamous Nick charm as said charmer winked at me then walked away towards the house. I couldn't help turning and watching him leave, almost like my eyes had a mind of their own. Nick's back was as glorious as the front, muscles in all the right places, legs that looked like they knew what they were on about. Perfectly rounded ass.

"So that's my brother," Dane finally said and I hurriedly turned away from my perusal and back to my best friend.

"He seems all right," I offered weakly.

"That's what they all say at the start," Dane replied confidently. "Give it a week and you'll see exactly what I mean."

I risked a glance back at Dane's brother as he walked up the path that led to the Tempe home. That little zing that had started ringing in me as soon as I stepped onto this beach was still ringing loud and clear and I was suddenly full of anticipation about what, exactly, I would be thinking about Nick a week from now.