Five p.m. meant rush hour in Sydney. Not just on the roads, but on the footpaths as well. I pushed through the glass doors of my office building and joined the swarm of people bustling toward the parking station where I’d left my car that morning. We were in the thick of autumn, but the evenings were still light and warm, though it wouldn’t stay that way for much longer. Soon, I’d be leaving in the dark, with cold wind greeting me. Once those days hit, I’d be cursing these after-work walks and the fact that our building didn’t have parking.

My phone buzzed in my bag, “Love Shack” bursting from the tinny speakers. Jamison had personalised his ringtone on my phone a few weeks back, and even though I often got strange looks when he rang me in public, I loved it. It never failed to put a smile on my face.

I swiped the answer button, only to be blasted with a wall of noise. I jerked it away, holding the offending sound at a safer distance from my eardrum. “Jamison?”

The racket in the background settled before Jamison spoke. “Hey babe, sorry about that. It’s really loud here. You all done with work? Can you come meet Nathan and me at the games arcade?”

A few weeks back, Jamison had asked if he could pick Nathan up from school on Friday afternoons. Nathan had been all for it when I’d asked him if he’d like that, and it made my life a little bit easier. Jamison was great with him, sometimes taking him down to the soccer fields to kick a ball around, sometimes taking him to kid-friendly places like mini golf. Most weeks I’d come home to them playing Playstation with dinner warm in the oven.

Jamison had made it very clear from the get-go that he wasn’t going to try to be Nathan’s dad. He already had one. But he wanted to be his friend. And it seemed to be working out pretty well so far, and the two of them were getting along like a house on fire. I could hear Nathan yelling Jamison’s name in the background, trying to con him into giving him extra tokens for some game.

“Sounds fun. I’m just walking back to my car, so I’ll be thirty minutes or so.”

“We’ll be here.”

“Don’t let him play those fighting games though, okay? He’s likely to have nightm—”

“Elodie?”

I whipped my head to the side at the sound of my name and the gentle hand on my arm.

“Yes?” I said to the young, brunette woman who’d stopped me as I covered the phone speaker with my hand. There was something familiar about her, and we’d obviously met if she knew my name, but for the life of me, I couldn’t place her.

Then it hit me like a sledgehammer.

“Can we talk?”

My eyes widened as I went back to my phone call. “Uh, Jam? I have to go.”

“Okay, but which game is it he can’t—”

“I…” I said, trying to calm my pulse, which was suddenly out of control. “Bree’s here.”

“Bree?” Jamison squeaked out, questions about Nathan’s video game apparently forgotten. “What is she even doing there? Walk away quickly. Or at least, don’t make direct eye contact; she might be there to steal your soul.” He chuckled at his own joke.

I ignored him and studied the woman carefully, as she stood waiting for me to finish my call. Her previously long hair had been cut pixie short and dyed a deep brown colour, which looked a thousand times nicer than the brassy blond she’d been sporting the last time I’d seen her. Gone were the towering heels and the top that showed off more cleavage than a stripper. In its place she wore flats with fitted pants and a collared shirt with all but the top button done up. She looked pale without her fake tan, a sprinkling of freckles across her makeup-free face making her seem very young. But the thing that surprised me most was the quiet way she stood, her eyes downturned as she fidgeted with the strap of her bag. I’d never seen her anything but bold and loud. But right now, Bree looked nervous.

I didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of the street. And all my past experiences with Bree said that’s exactly how this would end. Jamison was right. I should just walk away from her. I didn’t owe her anything. The horrible, hateful words she’d spewed at me that night in the restaurant still played loud and clear in my head. And speaking to her was the last thing I felt like doing right now. Just seeing her burst the happy little bubble Jamison and I had been living in.

But then she lifted her eyes again, and there was an emptiness there that made me freeze. Her expression was that of a woman who’d hit rock bottom and had nothing left. “Please,” she said softly.

I bit my lip before breathing out slowly. Then, even to my surprise, I said to Jamison, “It’s okay. I can spare a few minutes. See you at the arcade soon.”

He was still protesting loudly when I hung up. I tucked my phone back into my bag.

People were being forced to detour around us, but neither of us moved off the crowded footpath. I waited, and the silence drew out, but I wasn’t going to be the first to speak. She seemed to be wrestling with herself, but there was obviously something she wanted to say.

“I heard Rick has a new girlfriend…”

I raised an eyebrow, annoyance creeping into my voice. “Is that really why you stopped me? To talk about Rick? Because if so, you’re speaking to the wrong person. I’m not up to date on his social life. He’s been better about seeing Nathan and not disappointing him since the two of you split, so as long as he keeps that up, I don’t care who he chases after.” The words came out a bit more snippily than I had planned, but right now, I was missing out on time with Jamison and Nathan. I didn’t want to stand here gossiping with Bree about where Rick was sticking his dick. I just didn’t care.

“Right. No, of course. I’m sorry. That isn’t why I stopped you. This is just…” She pulled her shoulders back before she looked me square in the eye. “I couldn’t let you walk past without apologising. I’ve wanted to for weeks.” She looked down at her fingernails but then seemed to find some steel within herself and met my gaze again. “I’m really sorry, Elodie. The things I said to you that night in the restaurant… I’m ashamed of myself.” She shifted her bag onto her other shoulder. “Jamison probably told you that I have skeletons in my closet. But I’ve done a lot of soul-searching since I spoke to him last, and I know I used those things as an excuse. I’m not the only one to have been hurt by someone I loved. But then I went and helped Rick do the same thing to you. I don’t deserve or ask for your forgiveness, but I did want you to know that that person who said those horrible things? She isn’t me. Not the real me.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Not the person I want to be anyway. And I wanted you to know that I’m trying.”

I didn’t say anything for a long moment, trying, before I opened my mouth, to process all the changes in Bree and her apology. But words escaped me. Never in a million years had I thought I’d ever hear these words from this woman’s mouth. She smiled tightly. “Well. That’s it. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

She’d taken a few steps into the crowd before I called her back. “Bree?”

Only the top half of her body turned with her head. “Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re trying. I hope you find what makes you whole.”

Her bottom lip trembled slightly, her eyes misting. “Thank you. I hope things work out for you too. With Jamison, I mean. He’s one of the good ones. Don’t let him go.”

“I don’t plan to.” Warmth began to defrost some of my feelings toward her. She was young and broken, and nobody deserved that. She had a lot of years ahead of her, and I truly did hope she could find someone who would treat her well and make her happy. Her posture softened, and she nodded curtly before she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

I finished the walk to my car in record time, not really paying any attention to my surroundings. I didn’t need Bree to tell me how lucky I was to have Jamison. I already knew it, with every beat of my heart. Every beat told me I loved him.

Jamison

I couldn’t stop staring at the arcade entry. Every time it whooshed open, it caught my eye and I’d hold my breath, waiting to see if it was Elodie. I had a plan. And even Elodie running into Bree wasn’t going to stop me from going through with it. It was officially our two-month anniversary, and I’d wanted to say three little words to Elodie for almost the entire time we’d been together. I loved her. There was no doubt in my mind about that. She was beautiful, kind, and we’d fitted into each other’s lives seamlessly. Nathan was the coolest kid around, and hanging out with him on Friday afternoons was something I’d looked forward to each week.

I was ready to move things to the next level, but I’d held off on telling her, because I’d wanted to give her time. I wanted her to know I wasn’t going to rush this or pressure her into more than she felt ready to give. And I wanted to give Nathan time to fall in love with me too.

But I’d woken up that morning determined I’d waited long enough. The words were on the tip of my tongue, night and day. Even if she didn’t feel the same way, I had to tell her today. I had to.

“Ha! I won!” Nathan yelled, drawing my attention back to the video game we’d been playing. The words you lose flashed on my side of the screen. I hoped like hell they weren’t a metaphor for the rest of the night.

“So you did. Rematch?”

I laser focussed my attention on the next game, determined not to let his little ego get too big. I’d never hear the end of it if he won every game.

We were deep in the zombie-killing fields when Elodie appeared between us, one hand slipping around my waist, her other hand ruffling Nathan’s hair.

“Hi, Mum! I’m kicking Jamison’s butt!” Nathan yelled, his eyes never leaving the screen for a second. But I abandoned the game instantly, dropping my controller, gathering Elodie into my arms and dropping a kiss to her lips. Damn, she was beautiful. Nerves made my stomach lurch as she smiled.

“Well, hi to you too.”

I leant back and studied her. “What did Bree want?”

Elodie circled her arms around my back and rested her head on my chest, squeezing me tight, before she tilted her chin up to look up at me. “She apologised.”

I quirked a disbelieving eyebrow. “Did pigs fly?”

She laughed. “And she said I should hold onto you.”

I grinned, relieved. “Well, she got that right at least. Not that I plan on letting you go.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Good.”

For a long moment, we stood there, in a crowded video-game arcade, with Elodie’s little boy hollering at the screen and the drone of people and machines around us. But in my mind, we were the only two people in the room. Everything ceased to exist, except for her. The feel of her in my arms, the way my heart thumped against my chest, and the overwhelming feelings churning through me like a punch to the stomach… I couldn’t catch my breath. I could stand here forever and still never want to let her go. It was near impossible not to blab my feelings, and it took all my strength to drag my gaze away in order to put my plan into action.

“Hey, Nathan. Now that your mum is here, let’s go do photo-booth photos.”

He eyed me warily from where he still held his zombie gun controller.

“You can pull silly faces.”

“Okay then!” He scampered off to the photo booth, and I linked my fingers with Elodie’s as we trailed after him.

“Come on. Let’s get in there before someone else does.” Nerves and adrenaline made me twitchy.

Nathan pushed aside the grey curtain and disappeared into the booth as Elodie and I caught up. I did the same and stopped short. It was the tiniest photo booth I’d ever seen. There was barely even room for one person on the seat, let alone three.

“You go first, Nate,” Elodie said stepping back, but I shook my head.

“No, come on. I want one of the three of us.”

Elodie’s eyebrows pulled together adorably. “We won’t all fit.”

“Sure we will. Nathan, jump up. Let me sit first, your mum can sit on my lap, and you can sit on hers.”

Elodie looked doubtful, but I sat down and quickly pulled her onto my lap before she could protest.

“Oof,” she grunted, as Nathan scrambled up onto her lap, sitting at the top of our human pile like the king of the castle.

“Put some tokens in, kiddo.”

Elodie leant forward to help him and I used their momentary distraction to slip two cards from the back pocket of my jeans, keeping them pressed face down on the chair next to me.

All three of us shuffled around, trying to get comfortable in the claustrophobic space, and get our heads within the two red guidelines that showed us where the photo would be cut off. Before we had really worked it out, a robotic sounding voice started up a countdown. 4…3…2…“Silly faces for the first one!” Elodie called.

My heart was beginning to thump wildly, now that my plan was in full swing, and I prayed like mad I’d be able to pull it off and not have her bust me in the middle of it. I stuck my tongue out and crossed my eyes, right before a flash nearly blinded me.

“One more silly one!” Nathan yelled.

4…3…2…

With one hand, I put up bunny ears behind Nathan’s head. I used the other to hold up one of the postcard-sized signs I’d drawn in permanent marker that morning, being careful to hold it behind Elodie’s line of vision. As soon as the flash lit up the booth, I dropped the card and shoved it behind me.

“A nice one this time,” I requested as the machine began to count down for the third time. Nathan groaned, but I hoped he was smiling nicely. This was the important moment. As the countdown hit one, I flashed up my last card, dropping it back to the seat as soon as it was over.

“What are you doing back there?” Elodie asked, twisting back to look over her shoulder.

“Nothing. Quick, kiss me for the last one.”

“Happy to oblige,” she murmured as her lips brushed mine and the flash went. I pulled her closer instead of letting her move away. Elodie’s resistance quickly melted away, her lips parting ever so slightly as she kissed me back.

“Ew!” Nathan yelled, putting an abrupt halt to the moment.

I turned to him and laughed. “I know, right? Tell your mum to quit kissing me all the time!”

Elodie rolled her eyes as Nathan scrambled to get off her lap and pushed the grey curtain aside, opening us up to the view of the entire arcade again. Elodie stood up more slowly and I followed after her. Nathan bounced on the spot outside the booth as he waited for it to spit out our photo strip.

He snatched it from the slot when it appeared, and I watched carefully as he studied it. Then he laughed and looked up at me. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Elodie asked as she took the photo strip from Nathan. I winked at him and hugged him to my side with one arm. Then we both turned our attention to where Elodie was looking over the photos. I held my breath. When she looked up, her smile was wide, and her eyes were wet with unshed tears. For a split second, I was super proud of myself for creating such a romantic declaration of love. Until I realised the tears were from laughter.

She clutched her stomach as I looked at her, bewildered. She held the photos out to me, and I groaned when I realised what had happened. The first photo was the three of us pulling ridiculous faces. The second was where I’d flashed up a card that read, Love you, Nathan. It was perfect. But the third photo, the one where I’d flashed up a card that read, And your mum too, was the source of my instant embarrassment. It was the money shot. But I’d held the card slightly outside of frame. The three lines of text had been cut off. Instead of And your mum too, it read And yo mu to.

“And yo mu to, huh?” Elodie asked through her laughter. I couldn’t help but join in. I should have just gone traditional and taken her out for dinner or something.

“Yeah, I guess so. Damn. I thought that was going to be hella romantic. I wanted it to be perfect for you.”

“I think we’ve already proven that we don’t need perfect, don’t you?”

In total agreement, I cupped her cheeks in my hands and stared deep into the most beautiful eyes. “I love you, Elodie. You’re everything I didn’t know I wanted, but everything I need. You and Nathan both.”

All traces of humour disappeared from her expression. She blinked, and a tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. My heart swelled, even though I’d thought it already full. Her lip quivered with emotion as she pulled my mouth down to hover above hers. “I love you too,” she whispered before I crushed my mouth down onto hers.

For once, Nathan didn’t moan about our public display of affection. I felt his little arm around my waist, as both Elodie and I dropped a hand to include him in a group hug.

Who needed perfect when I had all of this?

Thank you for reading Only the Perfect! I hope you enjoyed it! Would you mind leaving a review wherever you bought this book? (or any other platform you talk reading!) Reviews mean everything to new authors, and I’d love you forever.

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