Sugar Secrets…& Rivals Read online

  “Oh my God, you don’t think that, do you?” Joe gasped, the look of shock on his face immediately telling Ollie that his suspicions were unfounded. “Crikey, Ol, she’d devour me and still have room left for a football team!”

  “Just checking,” Ollie laughed.

  “No,” Joe went on. “I guess I’ve just found out that we’ve got a lot more in common that I first thought. Cat’s OK. She goes a lot deeper than anyone gives her credit for.”

  Catching sight of Catrina shimmying on the dance floor, her breasts pushed together so that they were under her chin, and surrounded by four guys with their eyes on stalks, Ollie decided that he’d have to take Joe’s word for it.

  “Kerry? Kerry!”

  Sonja pushed her way through the melée of bodies towards Kerry’s back which she’d just seen heading up the stairs.

  As Kerry reached the top she realised someone was calling her and looked around. Sonja’s face loomed up out of the semi-darkness until they were face to face.

  “Oh,” Kerry said. “It’s you.” She made to turn around again and head for the loo, but the desperation in Sonja’s voice stalled her.

  “Kerry, please. You’ve got to hear me out.”

  Kerry turned back to face Sonja. “OK, go ahead.”

  I’m not going to make this easy for you, she thought as she folded her arms across her chest and waited for an explanation.

  Sonja gulped before taking a deep breath. “I’m really sorry for what I’ve put you through. I’ve been so selfish - a thoughtless old bag who truly doesn’t deserve your friendship. I can’t begin to tell you how bad I feel about it.”

  “So why are you telling me this now?” Kerry asked. “Why has it taken until now for you to realise what’s been going on?”

  “Honestly, Kez,” Sonja said, her voice wavering as she spoke. “I had no idea I was being such a cow. Which makes me an even lesser human being for not realising. I don’t have any excuses. Not one.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I know and I’m sorry. I guess I got all wrapped up in having a good time with Natasha and I didn’t consider you and your feelings.” Sonja paused to take in a nervous gulp of air.

  “You know what I’m like, Kez. I’m a nightmare. And when she said all that stuff about me being a model, I was so flattered that someone who lives such a groovy life in London would want to hang out with me, it kind of made me lose sight of who my real friend was.”

  Sonja looked Kerry directly in the eyes and added, “I only hope that you can forgive me.”

  Kerry watched two big tears slide down Sonja’s cheeks. To hear her apologise was pretty rare - to see her cry was an even more uncommon sight. Kerry suddenly felt hugely and intensely moved.

  “It’s OK,” Kerry’s voice wobbled, her eyes welling. “R-really it is.”

  “Does that m-m-mean we’re f-f-friends again?” said Sonja, the tears flowing freely now.

  “Course it d-does.”

  Maya came out of the loo and walked past Kerry and Sonja hugging. She smiled to herself. After all the tension that had been going on recently, it was nice to see that things were getting back to normal.

  Joe had never asked a girl to dance before. The fact that he was doing it now, and the fact that he was having the guts to ask the only person in the world he’d ever want to dance with, was a huge step forward.

  He tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Would you like to dance?”

  Kerry turned round. “Joe! Hi. Yeah, I’d love to!”

  When she smiled and said yes, it felt as good as if she’d agreed to marry Joe. OK, so it might only be a dance - three minutes that probably meant nothing to her - but to Joe it was everything.

  He led Kerry to the middle of the crowded room and held her to him. He snuggled his head into her hair and lost himself in the movement of her body, the fresh smell of her shampoo, the feel of her skin on his. Joe knew then that he had an awful lot to live for.

  Not just Kerry. Joe knew it would be wrong to pin all his hopes on her. He had good friends too, people who looked out for him. He had his songwriting and The Loud, he got good grades at college.

  He had a bright future. There were to be no more dark days of despair, only hope.

  As the song came to an end, they drew apart and Kerry thanked him, before being tugged away all too quickly by Sonja.

  It didn’t matter. Joe felt really, truly happy. In fact, he couldn’t ever remember feeling this happy before.

  Right then he made himself a promise. It might take a week, a month, a year, but one day Kerry would be his.

  And when that happened he would never let her go.

  Sugar SECRETS …

  …& Loss

  “Anyway, I’ve got some great gossip for you - this’ll take your mind off those stupid things. You know how I went along with Matt to that golf club do last night?”

  Kerry nodded. Sonja was meant to have been helping her babysit Lewis but, after a desperate phone call from Matt, had ended up keeping him company instead.

  DJing for a bunch of middle-aged golfers in pastel sweaters wasn’t exactly Matt Ryan’s normal style, but he’d done it as a favour to his father.

  Or, to be more exact, his father - who used the club and its members for a little light networking - had threatened to pull Matt’s allowance that month if he didn’t play ball.

  It just cracked Sonja up that Matt had asked her along and not Ollie or Joe - mainly because he didn’t want to lose face in front of his mates.

  “Well, it turns out Nick’s got a new girlfriend!”

  “So? Nick’s always got a new girlfriend,” said Kerry, blinking furiously. “Every time we hang out at the café, he’s boasting about the latest one.”

  “Ah, but this time it’s different,” grinned Sonja knowingly. “He’s been going out with this one for three whole weeks and we’ve heard nothing about it! Ollie only found out ‘cause he was teasing Nick about how he must have lost his touch.

  Anyway, Nick absolutely flipped and said that that was where he was wrong, then just clammed up.”

  Kerry had to admit that was weird. Part of the fun of hanging out at the End-of-the-Line café was hoping that Ollie Stanton’s uncle, Nick, would come out from the kitchen and tell them all some long-winded tale or other. These usually revolved around the old rock bands he used to roadie for (everyone featured in the Guinness Book of Hit Singles, and more, by the way he spoke), his burgeoning business empire (the café and the second-hand record shop next door), and his success with women.

  The fact that he could keep his latest exploit secret was pretty suspicious. And if he wouldn’t even tell Ollie what he was up to, well something most definitely was going on.

  “And there’s more! Apparently, Nick’s only gone and joined a gym!”

  “What?” gasped Kerry, visualising Nick’s belly straining above his tight jeans and thick leather belt with the Rolling Stones logo buckle. A serious diet of egg and chips in the café, and pints of beer in the Railway Tavern with his sidekick Bryan was responsible for that. “Who says?”

  “Ollie does,” Sonja grinned back, relishing spreading this juicy bit of news. “When he went to open up at the End the other morning, he saw Nick just arriving back from somewhere and go rushing up to his flat with a sports bag. He asked Bryan about it later and he said Nick’s been going to that posh gym up at the tennis club every morning lately.”

  “What do you reckon? Is he trying to lose his love handles for his new girlfriend?” suggested Kerry.

  “Nah - I reckon he’s met someone there. And I bet it’s someone who’s not really his type and he’s embarrassed being seen with her. You know him - he always likes to have some glamorous young thing on his arm,” said Sonja scornfully. “I bet he’s seeing some rich, bored housewife or something. Bet this one’s some woman in a hideous floral number who thinks Elton John’s really rockin’!”

  They giggled at the idea of Ollie’s uncle trying to hold on to h
is street cred. Although they all liked him, everyone who hung out at the End thought Nick’s taste in music (and fashion) was stuck in a time warp, circa 1975.

  Even Matt, who picked Nick’s brains on every aspect of the music business, would end up nodding off when Nick went on about ancient bands like Status Quo and Whitesnake, whoever they were.

  All the stuff he sold in the second-hand record shop, basically.

  “But of course, you realise the saddest thing here,” Sonja suddenly sighed. “Whatever’s going on with Nick, he’s doing a lot better in the romance stakes than any of us.”

  Kerry nodded. Sonja was right.

  “I haven’t fancied anyone for so long that I’ve forgotten what it feels like. And look at Matt! He thinks he’s Mr Gorgeous, but he’s not exactly fighting them off with a stick. And for all her flirting, Cat’s not doing so hot either.”

  Kerry nodded again as Sonja counted off their crowd on her fingers.

  “Maya - well, she’s never had a proper boyfriend anyway, and Joe’s love-life’s a non-starter. Hey!”

  Sonja’s blue eyes lit up and she turned to her friend with one of those l’ve-just-had-an-amazing-idea looks that always petrified Kerry. It usually meant trouble.

  “Maybe we should get Maya and Joe together! What about it? We could do some matchmaking at the fair this afternoon - bring two beautiful people together…”

  “Like sure,” said Kerry, realising with relief that Sonja was just in wind-up mode. The thought of Maya and Joe together as a couple was about as likely as Posh Spice falling for a Chuckie Rugrat.

  A sudden bout of nippy eyes forced Kerry to rummage about in her pocket for another bit of loo roll. She was all out.

  Kerry dived into a newsagent’s shop.

  When she came out, Sonja was leaning against the wall, looking suspiciously thoughtful.

  “I was only joking about Maya and Joe,” she said, falling into step beside Kerry.

  “I know,” sniffed Kerry.

  “The two people I think should get together are… well, you and Ollie.”

  Kerry stopped in her tracks and stared at her friend.

  “What??!!”

  “C’mon - you’d be perfect together,” said Sonja, completely ignoring her friend’s outrage. “And Ollie’s all on his own since Elaine dumped him…”

  “Son! What are you on about?”

  Kerry was annoyed. Why did Sonja have to say such glib, silly, downright thoughtless things sometimes?

  She knew full well what had gone on

  between Elaine and Ollie! They’d parted on good terms a couple of weeks before when Elaine had gone off on a round-the-world trek - and Ollie had decided not to go with her.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner!” Sonja continued, ignoring her friend’s less-than-ecstatic reaction. “You’re both brilliant people - you’d make a really cute couple!”

  “Stop it, Sonja! You’re just being stupid!” Kerry burst out. “And don’t you dare start stirring this afternoon - I know what you’re like!”

  “But—”

  “I mean it!” Kerry warned.

  Sonja found herself shutting up for a second time. She hadn’t expected Kerry to get so wound up. She’d obviously hit a raw nerve.

  Kerry, for the first time that day, forgot about her stinging eyes.

  How could Sonja tease her like this? And how could she suggest that she and Ollie could ever be more than just good mates?

  She couldn’t believe it of Sonja! She was as bad as some of those stupid girls from her sixth-form college who always went on about how boys and girls could never just be friends: that old love thing always got in the way.

  Well, they were wrong - all of them. She and Ollie could talk about anything, and she could be her goofy, ordinary self and not feel shy in front of him, as she often did with people. Nope, there was only pure, unadulterated friendship going on between them - no attraction at all.

  So yeah, he’s cute-looking and everything, but that’s never mattered to me, Kerry thought to herself. I mean, it’s not like I could ever imagine myself kissing him, is it?

  SOME SECRETS ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO KEEP

  TO YOURSELF!

  Sugar Secrets…

  1… & Revenge

  2… & Rivals

  3… & Lies

  4… & Freedom

  5… & Lust

  DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR?

  Kerry’s so confused right now, she doesn’t know what to believe about anything - least of all herself! How good do you think you are at sifting the true from the false?

  Look at these scenarios and think about how you’d react if they happened to you…

  1. A girl you know is a real show-off. Lately, she’s been hinting that the boy you like has a crush on her - but you haven’t seen any evidence to back that up. You think…

  a) Oh, well, that’s my chance blown with him.

  b) She’s just trying her luck. She thinks if she says it often enough, everyone will believe her - including the boy!

  2. Someone tells you that they’ve heard your boyfriend is still in touch with his ex. You…

  a) Are heartbroken at the very idea. How could he do that to you?

  b) Doubt it, and wonder if someone’s trying to stir up trouble.

  3. You see your boyfriend with his arm round another girl. You immediately think…

  a) It’s all over - he’s obviously found someone new.

  b) It doesn’t look good, but there could be a whole load of reasons for what you’ve seen. You’d give him the chance to do some explaining before you decide whether to dump him.

  4. You and your boyfriend are strolling along hand-in-hand, staring into each other’s eyes - when your friend comes running along and joins you. You…

  a) Wish she hadn’t, but she’s your friend, so what can you do about it?

  b) Wonder if she’s feeling just a teensy bit jealous of the two of you, and deliberately gatecrashed a romantic moment!,

  5. A girl you know tells you about some trauma going on at home. You’ve met her family before, and a lot of what she’s saying just doesn’t add up. You…

  a) Feel really sorry for her, and give her lots of attention.

  b) Be supportive, but take it with a pinch of salt until you know more.

  6. You’re meant to meet your boyfriend, but your mate - who’s tagging along - turns up so late that you end up missing him. You…

  a) Are miserable that it’s happened, and want to catch up with your boyfriend as quickly as possible to explain.

  b) Wonder if she did it deliberately - because she’s jealous about the two of you being together.

  7. A friend tells you that she’s got a new boyfriend - only you and the rest of your friends have never heard her talk about him before, or ever set eyes on him. You…

  a) Think it’s a bit weird, but if she’s happy, then it’s brilliant for her.

  b) Have a sneaking feeling that she’s making it up.

  8. A mate was supposed to pass a message on to your boyfriend for you, but somehow it got all muddled in the telling and came out wrong. You…

  a) Don’t blame your mate - it’s just one of those things. All that’s important is sorting things out with your boyfriend.

  b) Can’t help but think she messed up the story on purpose - either because she’s jealous of your relationship, or worse: she’s after him herself.

  NOW CHECK OUT HOW YOU SCORED…

  SCORES

  An equal mixture of a and b

  You’ve got an open mind and a trusting nature - but a healthy dose of Sonja Harvey cynicism too! This means that you don’t necessarily think the worst all the time: it’s just that you don’t take people or situations at face value, preferring to think things through before you make up your mind about what’s going on, or what a person means.

  Mostly a

  You might as well have M.U.G. tattooed on your forehead! You’re kind-natured but, rather like K
erry, you tend to believe what you see - and that’s when the trouble starts. You push doubts to the back of your mind, telling yourself that you’re just being silly. But you might find that questioning things a little more might stop you from being used, or getting hurt.

  Mostly b

  You’re not very trusting, are you? In fact, you think everyone’s out for themselves - that they’re deliberately using half-truths and downright fibs to get what they want. And the reason you think this way is because you’re sometimes capable of it yourself - just like Catrina! But using lies to get what you want can be a very big mistake, so think twice before you over-react to a situation in future.

  Copyright

  Published in Great Britain by Collins in 1999

  Collins is an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishersLtd

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  The HarperCollins website address is www.fireandwater.com

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  Copyright © 1999 Sugar Ltd. Licensed with TLC.

  ISBN 0 00 675440 6

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  EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-40070-6

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