Page 22 of Going Overboard

Brody’s face doesn’t crack, but I notice him swallow and it looks a little too hard for me to think I just so happened to get that one right.

‘That is… correct!’ Brody reveals.

Nikki’s chair squeaks loudly on the ground as she pushes herself away from the table in temper.

‘That’s a lie,’ she shrieks. ‘They’re cheating. There’s no way. I mean, I mean… I’ve heard him listen to hip-hop and power ballads and just… inexplicably, a bunch of Bee Gees.’

‘The Bee Gees are great, to be fair,’ I chime in – and yes, I know I’m not helping.

‘What’s your favourite song?’ Brody asks me with what looks like a genuine sparkle in his eyes… although we have established he’s very good at this.

‘Oh, “Love You Inside and Out” – no contest,’ I reply. All of this is easy when you’re telling the truth.

‘Me too!’ he replies. ‘Wow, see, we’re still learning so much about each other, finding out we have so much in common.’

His smile seems so genuine but, truly, I think he’s getting off on this. If I’m being completely honest, so am I.

‘Brody, you don’t listen to pop punk,’ Nikki insists.

‘He does,’ I reply. ‘We listen to it together. He loves Sum 41, Blink 182…’

‘All the number bands,’ Brody jokes .

‘So, what, you’re just switching between moshing and jiving?’ Todd asks, his brow furrowed with disbelief.

‘You haven’t lived until you’ve listened to “Still Waiting” with a “Stayin’ Alive” chaser,’ I add, trying to drop enough information, should Brody need to pick any up.

‘It’s like a HIIT workout in the bedroom,’ Brody adds cheekily.

‘Huh,’ Al says thoughtfully. ‘Good to know.’

‘Okay, can we just… not? Thanks,’ Nikki adds. ‘I’m not playing unless it’s fair. In fact, let’s go, just us two versus Brody and Jessa, head to head, and the losers can’t play.’

‘What? Like penalties?’ Todd asks, because of course he does.

‘Sure,’ Nikki says. ‘But no cheating – we have to whisper the right answer to someone, who can verify if they match.’

‘Right, okay, well, how about I ask the same question to both of you, that way you have an even chance… sort of,’ Neil suggests, although he already looks like he regrets indulging Nikki in this.

‘Do it,’ Nikki says. ‘Quick.’

We stand by the pool in our couples, Neil standing in front of us with his question card. Todd and Nikki have Al by their side and we’ve got Kira, the idea being that one person tells their answer to them first, so they can verify the match. There’s no cheating this time.

‘Okay, so Nikki and Jessa, step forwards, you’ll be answering first,’ Neil instructs us. ‘The question is: if your partner had to live in another country, where would they choose?’

Oh, I mean, come on. It could be literally anywhere. How many countries are there? Pushing two hundred. I don’t like those odds.

Todd and Nikki go first, which buys me some time. Todd whispers his answer to Al, who nods.

‘China,’ Nikki says confidently.

‘China?’ Todd blurts back .

‘Because you love Chinese food,’ she replies.

Al shakes his head, wincing slightly.

‘Nope, sorry. He said Greece,’ he tells her, breaking the news as gently as he can.

There’s a few seconds of silence, no one quite knowing what to say. Nikki looks like she’s chewing on a lemon. As much as I would love to get this right, as unlikely as it may be, I’m actually kind of scared about how she’ll react. She’s really not taking this well.

‘Erm, Jessa,’ Neil prompts me eventually. ‘Your answer, please.’

I look at Brody, my heart pounding. I honestly have no idea.

Not a clue. What country would he even pick?

Well, I suppose it seems like he loves cricket more than anything, so where else do they love cricket?

Australia? That sounds right. Plus, they have beaches, he can be all cool and chilled out there.

I don’t know, maybe there’s something in it, maybe I’m reaching – but I have to say something.

I take a breath.

‘Australia,’ I say, without a hint of anything.

All eyes turn to Kira, to see if I’m right.

‘Correct,’ she says, looking delighted for us.

What? I got it right?

I let out a little squeal and leap into Brody’s arms – and it’s not part of the act, I am genuinely over the moon to have wiped the smirks off their faces. He catches me easily, spinning me around as I wrap my legs around his waist.

I can sort of hear Nikki, in the background, throwing a tantrum, but being twirled around by Brody, the background blurring around me, I feel like the moment is wrapping me up all warm and cosy .

‘You cheated,’ Nikki shrieks, approaching us. ‘It’s obvious! Kira, I don’t know why you’re lying for them.’

‘Oi, I’m not lying,’ Kira claps back. ‘They got it right.’

‘Come on, Nikki, stop being a sore loser,’ Brody tells her, tightening his grip on me.

If looks could kill we’d be dead. Truly, it’s like there’s a fire raging behind her eyes, her cheeks flushing, nostrils flaring and then…

And then she shoves us, sending us crashing into the pool.

I cry out, for what it’s worth, as we topple backwards into the pool with a huge splash, the cold water closing over my head – and it feels like forever, but it’s probably only a second or two.

I resurface, spluttering and laughing in disbelief, pushing my wet hair out of my face.

Brody pops up beside me, slicking his hands through his hair and shaking his head like a golden retriever.

When I blink the water out of my eyes, I see Nikki, standing at the edge of the pool, laughing a little too hard.

‘Okay, fine, you win!’ she says, throwing her hands up like this is all just good-natured fun.

Behind her, Todd’s face is frozen in this weird half-wince – like he’s not sure if this is all just good fun – but then he forces a laugh too, and everyone sort of awkwardly chuckles along.

Brody shoots me a look and I can tell from his raised eyebrow and the way the corners of his mouth twitch that we’re thinking the same thing. Nikki was not just messing around.

Sure, everyone was splashing around before, messing about in the pool, but this? Shoving us like that, in the middle of an argument, this wasn’t harmless fun. This was Nikki losing her cool.

Well – good. I’m not the one floundering (although I suppose technically I am, at this particular moment), they’re the ones who aren’t handling it .

Brody swims closer, slipping an arm around my waist under the water.

‘Are you okay?’ he asks, his voice quiet and just for me.

‘I’ve never been better,’ I tell him – and I mean it. Because we’re winning, and not just this stupid ancient Mr & Mrs game, we’re winning at life, at moving on, and being the bigger, better people.

Well, we are as far as they’re concerned, anyway.