I Love You to Death(32)

Watching Seth during this time, I had to laugh. He was so pathetic, pining after her, calling her, trying to convince her to go out with him. Sometimes she would, but always in a group situation. Now Seth was the one being played and all he wanted to do was get her alone. It really was pretty funny to watch.
The first time I met her was when Seth had a party at home. Dad had gone away for work and although he’d said, "No parties," to Seth, I knew it was inevitable.
Seth was pretty cool about having one though, and he told me, "You can come along Smash, as long as you don’t tell Dad."
"You know he’s going to find out right? You never clean up properly."
"Maybe you can help me?" he asked smiling.
I crossed my arms as I stood there looking at him, pretending to think about it. "Maybe if the price is right?" I answered in my most serious voice.
Seth grabbed me in his arms, tickling me as he said, "You drive a hard bargain little sis."
Of course we had the party and this is when I finally got to meet Lara. My first thought when I met her, wow, she’s gorgeous. Second thought, she really could be perfect for my brother. Third thought, he doesn’t stand a chance.
I remember watching him follow her around all night. He was pathetic, even I could see that. She wasn’t exactly being mean to him but she certainly knew he wanted her and she was definitely having fun with that. I couldn’t help but admire her for being this way. For knowing that Seth wanted her, but not immediately being in to him like every other girl always was. For making him work for her, prove himself to her. It made me think she was pretty cool and exactly the sort of girlfriend Seth needed. I hoped underneath all that she was nice too.
Eventually Lara came over to chat to me and that’s when I discovered what she was really like.
"Hey, it’s Ash right?"
I looked up from the camera I was playing with to see Lara standing in front of me. Seth had described her to me, had been talking about her all day actually, but it was his reaction when she’d first showed up tonight that really gave away her identity. My brother really was pathetic when it came to this girl.
Lara smiled at me and I quickly smiled back before looking at my hands as I answered, "Yeah."
"I’m Lara, nice to meet you," she said, coming over and standing next to me.
"You too," I said, quickly flicking my eyes up to hers again before concentrating on the camera I was holding.
"Are you a photographer?" she asked me.
I couldn’t stop the tiny smile at her assumption. "No, I don’t really know anything about it," I said quietly. "I kind of just try things out as I go."
Lara’s hand reached out to the camera in mine. "May I?" she asked.
I silently handed it to her and watched as she expertly flicked through the buttons, looked through the view finder and adjusted the lens.
"It’s a very good camera," she said, handing it back to me. "I can show you a few tricks some time if you like?"
I looked up at her in shock as I took the camera back. Lara just smiled at me before walking over to the fridge to get another drink. As she reached in to get one, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders.
"Smasha, what are you doing hiding out in here?" Seth asked me, planting a kiss on the top of my head as he pulled me against his side.
I shrugged in response and looked back towards Lara as she stood there watching us, closing the fridge door behind her.
"Oh, hey Lara," Seth said, surprised to see her. "Have you met my sister?" he continued, still keeping an arm around me.
Lara smiled at Seth then as she answered, "Yeah, I have. We were just talking photography."
Seth looked back at me and I shrugged again in response. Knowing how much he liked this girl, I decided to try and help him out a little. Turning to Lara I took a deep breath before saying, "Seth’s the one who gave me this camera."
I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder and I knew it’d been the right thing to say. Lara walked back towards us, standing opposite Seth and I, and I watched as she took in the sight of me still standing in my brother’s hug, Seth making no move to step away or take his arm from my shoulders. I watched her smile as she seemed to acknowledge this, like Seth had just passed some test or something.
"Well, I was saying to Ash, that I could show her a few tricks with it sometime, if she wanted me to."
"You’re a photographer?" Seth asked surprised.
Lara laughed a little. "Well not a professional or anything, but I’ve done some courses over the years. Really though, it’s much easier if someone can show you, rather than sit through a bunch of lectures. Maybe we could all go out sometime and I’ll show you some of the things I’ve learnt?" Lara said, turning back to look at me now.
I felt Seth tense beside me and I knew exactly what he was thinking. I could almost hear the telepathic messages being beamed inside my head. Turning, I looked up at him and smiled, resisting the urge to playfully punch him, before turning back to Lara. "Sure, that’d be really great Lara, thanks."
Six days later, Seth and I picked Lara up and together we all headed down to Newport for my first photography lesson. Seth was beyond excited and had spent all week being extra nice to me thanks to my role in getting this to all happen. Even though he wasn’t actually alone with Lara, I think he figured with only me there he stood a better chance. I guess because she was paying attention to his family, he thought she was also paying attention to him. I think he was probably right and I’m pretty sure Lara knew exactly what she was doing when she suggested this. When we parked the car and got out, Lara suggested we walk along Thames Street first, just to have a look for somewhere to start. Seth, doing his chivalrous best, asked us if we wanted coffees to take with us. And as he headed off to buy them, Lara turned to me and said, "So I guess you must know, your brother’s been trying to get me to go out with him?"