Chapter 4: Tryst at PARC

As the weeks unfolded into the crisp days of late summer, Kim started being suspicious after the New Year’s Eve party, Lloyd had decided in his mind to stay away from Purdey. He has sent her a text claiming it was merely a one-time occurrence, however his thoughts frequently wandered back to their intimate encounter—the sensation of their bodies connecting, the way she had taken control, making their passion a mutual experience. Nevertheless, they found themselves engaged in an elaborate dance of avoidance across the landscape of their small, interconnected community. At after-school events—where fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows and the air hung heavy with perfume and expectations—they maintained careful distances. During neighbourhood barbecues—where smoke curled lazily into the evening sky and laughter rippled across manicured lawns—they circled each other like wary satellites. At local markets—amidst the vibrant displays of produce and the hum of weekend shoppers—they exchanged stiff nods before quickly turning away.

They tried desperately to act as they always had, but the tension between them had become a third presence, almost visible in its intensity—a silent, persistent acknowledgment of what had transpired in those vulnerable hours of New Year’s Night. The weight of their shared secret pressed upon them both, creating an invisible current that everyone seemed to sense but few could name, hanging heavy in the stale air of the small-town community where secrets rarely remained buried for long.

Patrick, Rachel’s brother had sent the video of Purdey being fucked by Lloyd to her other brother Jack, who then dispersed it among his friends. Young men huddled around the blue glow of smartphones in shadowy bedrooms and musty locker rooms, pulses quickening as the footage played. They watched with rapt attention, each silently inserting himself into Lloyd’s position, breath growing shallow and rapid with every frame. The recording raced through the school corridors like wildfire, transferring from device to device through hasty Bluetooth connections and whispered exchanges until administration became aware. The Principal and teachers acted decisively, seizing phones and delivering grave warnings that echoed through hallways and classrooms. The school staff, having no familiarity with Purdey or Lloyd as they weren’t yet enrolled in the high school, scrambled unsuccessfully to find a way to alert them, but the consequences were already rippling outward. Whenever Purdey and Lloyd moved through town—passing the bustling coffee shop where students congregated after final bell, navigating the crowded mall where weekend shoppers browsed, even selecting produce in the quiet aisles of the local grocery—they encountered averted gazes and conversations that died mid-sentence, the atmosphere around them suddenly heavy with murmurs and silent condemnation that clung to them like persistent shadows.

Lloyd sought refuge in the solitude of his garage workshop, the smell of wood shavings and motor oil enveloping him like a familiar blanket. Meanwhile, Purdey retreated deeper into her garden sanctuary. As dawn broke each day, she would stretch out on her weathered deck chair in her lingerie, the pages of her book rustling in the gentle breeze while dew still clung to her vegetable plants. The coolness of early summer mornings caressed her skin, providing momentary peace from her troubled thoughts.

Two months crawled by, yet the memory of their passionate encounter had burrowed deep within both their hearts, an unstoppable force pulling them together despite their resistance. Their desire for each other grew more intense with each passing day, each yearning for another taste of forbidden pleasure. Purdey deliberately avoided crossing Lloyd’s path, turning away at the sight of him, unwilling to face the storm of emotions he stirred within her. Lloyd, surrounded by his tools and half-finished projects, battled his conscience relentlessly—torn between severing all ties or surrendering to his primal urges and whisking her away to some anonymous hotel room where they could lose themselves in each other once more.

Despite their internal struggle of promising to keep it platonic, they found themselves constantly drifting back to vivid recollections of that night—the heat of skin against skin, whispered words in darkness. Something primitive and undeniable bound them together now. In quiet moments, Lloyd’s mind would wander to the sensation of her body against his, while in her garden sanctuary, Purdey’s thoughts turned to passionate possibilities, imagining deeper intimacies they had yet to explore together.

Today was Lloyd’s rostered day off from work. As he flicked through social media, he started going through Purdey’s Instagram photos—her in a bikini, her laughing against sunsets, her in that flowing dress at the Carlton best and fairest. Each image pulled him deeper into her orbit, creating an almost physical ache in his chest. He found himself lingering on certain photos, imagining the scent of her perfume, the sound of her laugh. The rational part of his brain screamed warnings, but his emotions had formed a dangerous attachment that logic couldn’t penetrate. A reckless impulse overtook him. His fingers hovered over the keyboard before decisively typing “PARC Hotel” into the search bar. The Executive Suite - Room 512 caught his eye immediately—private, luxurious, discrete. Perfect. Without allowing himself to second-guess, he entered his credit card details and confirmed the booking, a flutter of anticipation warming his chest. The pull toward Purdey was simply too strong to resist now—he had crossed an emotional threshold from which there seemed no return.