Down London Road

She nodded and smiled, a dimple dipping in her left cheek. She really was adorable. ‘There’s a hot guy in that one.’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Age?’

‘Twenty-four.’

Pleasantly surprised, I smiled, flipping through the pages. ‘Nice. Who knew teen fiction had got so risqué?’

‘The main character is eighteen. It’s not gross or anything.’

‘Good to know.’ I stood up from my kneeling position and wandered over to her huge bed to flop down beside her. ‘I wouldn’t want you corrupting my i

Ha

I gave a wee huff of amusement. ‘What would you know about that stuff? A boy caught your eye yet?’

Of course, I’d expected her to shake her head, frowning like she always did when I asked her this question. To my utter surprise, her pale cheeks flushed red.

Interesting.

I sat up and pushed her laptop off her lap on to the bed so I could have her full attention. ‘Tell me everything.’

She slanted me a look. ‘You can’t tell anyone. Not Ellie or Joss or Mum –’

‘I promise,’ I replied hurriedly, feeling a bubble of excitement for her. First romances were so exhilarating.

Making a face at my obvious anticipation, Ha

I gri

She shrugged uncertainly, her eyes suddenly filled with dismay. ‘He doesn’t like me the same way.’

‘Who doesn’t? How do you know?’

‘He’s older.’

Worry stabbed me in the gut. ‘Older?’

Ha

‘So how did you meet?’ Although I was willing to be a friend to Ha

Relaxing, Ha

I gripped her duvet cover, my eyes wide. ‘Di–’

‘It’s okay.’ She cut me off, reassuring me. ‘Marco stopped them.’

My lips twitched as I tried to contain my smile at the dreamy way she said his name. ‘Marco?’

She nodded, her smile more than a little bashful. ‘His dad is African American but his mum’s family is Italian American with family in Scotland. He’s from Chicago but he moved here last year to live with his aunt and uncle. He was with a couple of friends and he saw the boys following me and taunting me. He scared the guys off, introduced himself, and then walked me home even though it was in the opposite direction from his place.’

So far, so good.

I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

‘He told me anytime I missed the bus he would walk me home. He started hanging around with his friends at the end of school and waiting to see if I got on the bus. The couple of times I missed it, he was true to his word and walked me home.’

What was this kid after? ‘So has he asked you out?’

Ha

Okay, maybe he really was just a good kid. ‘Is it your shyness? Do you not talk to him?’

Ha

‘How do you know he doesn’t fancy you?’

Her cheeks flushed a deeper red than before and she bit her lip, her eyes flickering away from mine.

‘Ha

‘I may have mmmhed imm,’ she mumbled.

I leaned closer, suspecting I already knew the answer to my next question, ‘What was that?’

‘I may have kissed him,’ she answered grumpily, her cheeks brightening again.

I gri

Ha

‘Yay!’ I punched the air like a goofy idiot.

‘No.’ Ha

Feeling my chest ache at how crestfallen she looked, I slid my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to my side. ‘Ha

I knew how empty my words were. There were no words that helped ease the pain of teenage unrequited love, but Ha

‘What’s going on?’ Ellie’s worried voice brought our heads up. She stood in the doorway, her slender arms crossed over her chest, her eyes creased in concern. Her blonde hair was much shorter than it used to be. For weeks after her surgery she’d worn head scarves to cover the patch of hair that had been shaved. As the hair grew in, she’d chopped it all off into a sexy pixie cut that she absolutely hated. It was now chin length and as über chic as Ha

I felt Ha

Ha

Not wanting to actually get into it, I sat up on the bed, pulling Ha

Ellie looked a little disappointed as she led us out of the room. ‘I know! We’ll have a girls’ night in this month and we can talk about our first loves.’

‘Aren’t you and Joss dating yours?’

Her mouth turned down at the corners. ‘Just yours, then?’

I grimaced. ‘Sounds like a real good time.’

‘Every time you hang out with Ha

Ha

Once we were seated around the table, Elodie clucked around us, making sure we all had what we needed.

‘Are you sure you don’t want any more gravy, Jo?’ she asked, the gravy boat hovering precariously in the air in her light grasp.

I smiled around a potato and shook my head.

‘Cole?’

‘No, thank you, Mrs Nichols.’

He made my heart hurt with his beautiful ma

‘What were you and Ha