Flirty Dancing by McLachlan Jenny

Author:McLachlan, Jenny [McLachlan, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2014-05-30T07:00:00+00:00

We hang out in there for a while, chatting to Charlie’s brother, George, and his mates. I notice Lauren and Holly sitting in the garden, but there’s no sign of Kat. By now Betty has moved on to ‘Orange’ and she’s laughing madly at everything George says.

Pearl walks in, her cheeks glowing from dancing, and takes a long drink from a bottle that’s handed to her. Sitting on the edge of the table, she fixes her large blue eyes on me.

‘Bean,’ she says. ‘Do you like boys?’ Around us, a few people stop talking. ‘Go on, you can tell me!’ She laughs and throws back her head so that her wild hair trails down her back.

‘Come on,’ I say to the others. ‘Let’s go.’ But they don’t hear me over the noise of the party.

‘Ah, don’t go, Jelly Bean . . . it’s just a question.’ I need to get out of this kitchen, but Pearl is still staring at me, still smiling. I go to walk past her, but she lifts her legs up on to the work surface, trapping me. I turn to go the other way, but there are too many people. Behind me, Betty is attempting to make another Orange while Charlie and Amber try to stop her.

I’m alone.

‘Answer the question,’ says Pearl, quietly. ‘Do you like boys? Yes or no?’

‘Yes,’ I say, finally giving in to her. I want to go home now. The evening is ruined.

‘Yeah, right,’ laughs Pearl. She still won’t let me pass. Behind her, I see Ollie come into the kitchen. He stops and looks over at us. Most of the people around us have fallen silent, waiting to see what will happen.

‘What’s going on?’

‘I was just asking if Bea was having fun, wasn’t I?’ Ollie looks from Pearl to me.

‘That’s right,’ I say, trying to make my voice sound as normal as possible. Her legs drop down and she even gives my shoulder a stroke as I walk past. The girls follow me back to our corner in the living room.

A few minutes later, Pearl comes in, holding hands with Ollie. She leads him into the hallway and up the stairs. I feel embarrassed and stupid, like I’m a million miles away from being the sort of person Ollie would want to be with.

‘I’m going to ring home for a lift,’ I say. They try to stop me, but I’ve made up my mind.

As I wait outside for Mum, the sounds of the party bubbling away behind me, I feel an ache growing inside my stomach. I glance at the upstairs windows. All the curtains are closed and I can’t see a thing. I wonder if I ate too many Hula Hoops?

No. I don’t think so. I’m just totally and utterly jealous.

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