Sugar Secrets…& Mistakes Read online

  It wasn’t that she was hurt – it was just that she’d spent the night lying awake realising what a stupid mistake she could have made if she had pursued Matt. How right Kerry had been when she’d said it was because Sonja was on the rebound that she wasn’t reading her emotions right! If Sonja was quiet now, it was more to do with feeling embarrassed when Mart’s name was mentioned than wishing she could swap places with Gabrielle. That and the sudden realisation of just how absolutely cringeworthy it would have been to end up dating the same boy her cousin had…

  “Well, good luck to him!” she smiled brightly, trying to be her old self. “At least we’ve got someone else to rival Ollie and Kerry in the gooey couple stakes!”

  “Never!” Ollie protested and attempted to prove his point by throwing his arms around Kerry and kissing her in front of the others.

  “Oi, no!” Kerry laughingly protested, trying to slither out of his embrace. “You taste too much like a burger!”

  For half a second Ollie looked slightly hurt, before letting her go and turning his attention to Joe.

  “What time do you make it, Joey?”

  Pushing the floppy undone shirt sleeve away from his wrist, Joe glanced at his watch. “About time that guy showed up.”

  “What’s this? What guy?” asked Cat, returning to her seat, her boy antennae tuned in as always.

  “Well, hopefully a new guitarist for The Loud. We saw his ad in Central Sounds last week and he’s supposed to be meeting us here today for a chat.”

  “Wow, that’s brilliant, Ollie!” Sonja exclaimed enthusiastically. “It’s about time you boys got it together again!”

  “Yes, I loved coming along to your gigs,” added Maya. “They were always a laugh.”

  “And such a good place to spy hunky guys!” Cat chipped in.

  “So who’s this person, Ollie?” Kerry asked him. “You never mentioned him to me…”

  Ollie was aware of the slightly surprised hurt in Kerry’s voice. But then she’d been so distant with him the last few days, he didn’t feel too guilty for forgetting to mention the ad and the plan to reform the band. And he was still smarting at the way she’d pushed him away just now, even if it had been done in fun.

  “Don’t know any more than was on the card in Central Sounds, really,” he shrugged. “He’s seventeen, his name’s Will and he said on the phone he played in his mate’s band for a bit.”

  “Ooh, new blood!” Cat cackled, rubbing her hands together. “I wonder if he’s cute!”

  Cat didn’t have to wait long to find out. The door of the End tinkled open and a dark-haired boy came in, casting his gaze around the crowded room, his guitar case clattering against the door frame.

  The first person he seemed to recognise was Anna – and his eyes lit up when he spotted her.

  Anna gazed up from the cup she was filling at the sound of her name and gave the boy a friendly smile and a wave.

  “Hey!” gasped Ollie. “Look who it is!”

  CHAPTER 16

  MIXED FEELINGS

  Maya swivelled round in her seat to see who Ollie was talking about.

  The boy with the guitar turned his gaze to where Anna had pointed – over to the crowd at the window seat.

  “Billy!” she gasped.

  “Maya!” he smiled in delight. “What are you doing here?”

  “This is just where we… hang out, I guess!” she waffled. She only ever saw Billy at her photography club evening class – apart from taking him along to the party the Saturday before last – and she felt a little disorientated having him turn up here, unexpectedly, in her world. “What are you doing here?”

  “Answering our ad, if that guitar case is anything to go by!” OIlie exclaimed, laughing at the coincidence. “But since when have you been called Will?”

  “And since when did you have a band?” Billy grinned back, walking over to join them. “Maya never told me!”

  Maya bristled. Just because he was a friend from one part of her life, it didn’t entitle him to an entire history of all her long-term mates.

  “Yeah, me and Joe have been trying to get The Loud back on course since our original guitarist and bass player left to do other stuff,” OIlie filled him in. “But come on, you still haven’t explained the Will thing!”

  “Billy’s what I got stuck with at school, but at home I’ve always been Will,” he explained. “I don’t mind, though – I’ll answer to whatever!”

  “God, this is brilliant, isn’t it?” Sonja yelped. “Maya’s boy- er, Maya’s friend being in OIlie and Joe’s band!”

  Maya threw Sonja a thunderous look for her near slip.

  “Well, you might be jumping the gun there, Sonja,” said Billy, pulling his guitar case round in front of him. “I mean, OIlie and Joe haven’t even heard me play yet!”

  The boys were pleased to hear him say that. As soon as the words were out of Sonja’s mouth, they’d both instantaneously changed from being chuffed to see Billy, to panicking that he’d think he was automatically in the band, just because he was a mate of Maya’s.

  “Look, my uncle says we can go next door to his record shop and talk,” said Ollie, getting to his feet. “He’s got an old amp in his back office so we can hear what you do at the same time.”

  “Fine,” nodded Billy. “Right, I’ll see you tomorrow night then, Maya?”

  “Sure,” Maya replied, watching the three boys get up and make their way out of the café.

  ‘“See you tomorrow night then’!” mimicked Cat as soon as the door had shut behind them. “How cosy, Maya!”

  “Cat, I hate to spoil your romantic delusions,” Maya snapped, “but Billy was talking about photography club. It’s Wednesday tomorrow, remember?”

  Cat’s face fell.

  “Oh, yeah…” she muttered. Cat still hadn’t got her head around the fact that Maya hadn’t fallen for Billy, especially after the business of him taking her portrait. To Cat, that was just the most romantic thing she had ever heard. She’d have given anything for someone to take a picture of her like that…

  “And please, Sonja,” Maya said to her other friend, “don’t come out with stuff like ‘boyfriend’ in front of Billy again – he’ll get the wrong idea. He’ll think I’ve been talking to you about him that way!”

  “I know, I know-I’m sorry,” Sonja cringed. “It just slipped out. I’m a moron. I’m a tactless moron.”

  “But why did you invite Billy to the party the other week?” Cat persisted.

  Kerry rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Cat was unstoppable.

  “Because,” sighed Maya, “he’s pretty sporty and he mentioned that he’d love to have a chance to check out the fitness centre, even though he could never afford to join it. So, as a friend, I thought it would be nice to give him that chance!”

  “So, you really, really don’t fancy Billy?” asked Cat, pushing the point just that bit too far.

  “Cat – how many times do I have to tell you?”

  “No, hold on, Maya – I just wanted to get that straight for a reason,” Cat said placatingly.

  “What reason?” asked Sonja. She half expected Cat to say that if Maya didn’t want Billy, would she mind if she could go after him? It was just the kind of stunt Cat would pull…

  Cat looked at Sonja as if she was a naive child.

  “Anna, of course!” she exclaimed, turning her hands palms outward. “Billy couldn’t keep his eyes off her at the party and look how he smiled at her when he walked in here! What I mean is, if Maya doesn’t want him, the way’s open for him and Anna!”

  The other three girls all stared disbelievingly at Cat.

  “You’ve got some imagination, Catrina Osgood!” Sonja said finally, dropping her voice, since Anna was still pottering about from table to table. “You’ve always had a talent for sniffing out romances that don’t exist!”

  Cat looked hurt at the dig.

  “It’s true…” she mumbled. “He was talking to Anna for ages that night.”
/>   “He talked to all of us. Cat – you included!” Sonja pointed out.

  Before anyone said anything else, Maya decided to leave for home. She wasn’t in the mood for any more nonsense.

  Hanging up her jacket in the hall, Maya caught sight of the black and white portrait of herself that took pride of place on the living room wall.

  After seeing Billy’s winning photo of their eldest daughter in the gallery competition, her parents had asked him to print another copy for themselves. Seeing it now made Maya feel irrationally irritated again, and she’d only just walked off her last bout of annoyance in a quick stride from the End to her front door.

  Hearing laughter coming from the kitchen, she walked in to join her little brother Ravi and Brigid, who looked after the family until Maya’s parents got home from work in the early evening.

  “Now, would you be looking at your sister’s face?” said Brigid, nudging Ravi. “You can tell she didn’t have as much fun as you did on her first day back at school!”

  “It wasn’t school,” sighed Maya, flopping down on a kitchen chair. “Sixth form was OK.”

  “Well, what is it that’s bothering you, Maya love?” Brigid asked, drying her hands on a towel.

  But that was the problem: Maya couldn’t fathom why these great clouds of gloom had settled over her. Yes, it was annoying when her mates – Cat in particular – tried to read more into her friendship with Billy than there was. And yes, she knew she felt a little bit weird about the idea of him joining the band.

  But why did it bug me so much when Cat started to go on about Billy and Anna? she asked herself – and couldn’t find an answer.

  Kerry flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

  A dull thump, a wobble on the bed and a wet nose snuffling at her hand indicated that Barney had jumped up to keep his sad-looking mistress company.

  Kerry had felt miserable since that funny incident earlier down at the End when she’d broken away from OIlie; when he’d stared at her for that brief moment with hurt in his eyes, before turning his back on her and talking to Joe.

  She sighed and felt the ripples of misery rumble across her chest. Kerry loved OIlie to pieces; she had for a very long time. She loved his open face, his lopsided grin, his silly sense of humour, the way he made her feel special instead of awkward and gawky, which she always had before.

  She loved that second before they kissed; that second when she could see so deeply into his hazel eyes. She loved the touch of his lips; she loved feeling his arms bundle her into his lean body.

  And yet… and yet… she said over and over to herself, feeling the tears trickle from her eyes.

  CHAPTER 17

  CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

  “What’s up with him?”

  “Matt?” said Ollie, looking back over his shoulder at his friend. “Don’t worry, Dad – it’s nothing contagious. He’s just all loved up.”

  Stuart Stanton gave a little snort as he continued to clean the glasses behind the bar.

  “Might have guessed,” he laughed. “That misty-eyed way he’s staring out the window; the way he’s tearing that beer mat into tiny pieces; the fact that he hasn’t touched that bag of nuts I so kindly chucked his way earlier… It’s a sure sign he’s a goner. So who’s the lucky girl? It’s not one of your crowd, is it?”

  “Nah,” Ollie replied, picking up the two pint glasses of orange juice his dad had poured for them. “It’s someone he met when he DJ’d at the new fitness centre. I think she’s really blown him away.”

  “Aww, young love. Isn’t it nice to see?” said Ollie’s dad with just a hint of sarcasm.

  “Yeah, especially since Matt tended to be better known for young lust in the past…” Ollie agreed, walking away from the bar.

  “There you go, mate,” he said, plonking the glass down in front of Matt.

  “Thanks,” said Matt, eyeing the contents of the glass dubiously. “I’d still rather have had a pint of lager, though, just to calm my nerves.”

  “Well, you can’t – not since you’re driving tonight,” Ollie reminded him. “And anyway, why are you nervous? You’ve been out on a date with her once already this week, so what’s the problem?”

  “The problem,” grinned Matt sheepishly, “is that she makes me turn to mush every time I think of her. Look, I’ve got goosebumps at the thought of seeing her again!”

  Ollie examined the outstretched arm. Those were definitely goosebumps. Either that or Matt was suffering from a rare tropical skin disease.

  “That can’t be right, though, can it? Feeling so weird like this over a girl?” asked Matt, gazing down at the hairs standing to attention on his forearm. “I mean, I’ve been a bag of nerves. And I’ve been breaking out into a sweat when I think about her too.”

  “Are you off your food as well?” asked OIlie, noting the unopened packet of honey roast nuts.

  “Yeah – yeah, I am!” said Matt.

  “Even Pot Noodle?”

  “Even Pot Noodle!” he grinned, suddenly realising that OIlie was winding him up.

  “Don’t worry about it, Matt. All that’s wrong with you is that you’re in love, and ‘cause that’s never happened to you before, it’s freaking you out.”

  Matt felt a furious blush surge into his cheeks – much stronger than when he was being teased by Sonja’s gorgeous older sisters.

  “Wow! You’re even blushing!” OIlie sniggered. “You are in love.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that…” waffled Matt.

  “Aw, look, don’t worry about it! Just have a good time!” OIlie tried to reassure him, seeing how embarrassed Matt seemed. “Anyway, where did you say you were taking her?”

  “Just this country pub Gabrielle knows of. Can’t remember the name of it.”

  Matt glanced at his watch for the tenth time that minute.

  “Are you picking her up from her house?”

  “Nah, she’s going to wait for me at the bus stop on the main road near hers. She said it would save time,” Matt answered him, tearing the tiny shreds of ripped-up beer mat into even tinier remnants. “Listen, Ol – I meant to say: this day trip to the seaside on Saturday. It’s still on, is it?”

  “Yeah, too right!” Ollie nodded. “It’s taken enough manoeuvring to get time off for me and Anna. Why are you asking? Do you want to blow it out?”

  “No – no, not at all,” Matt shook his head. “It’s just… well, I know it was just meant to be our crowd going, but I- but, well…”

  “You want to bring Gabrielle?” Ollie finished Matt’s sentence for him helpfully. “Yeah, of course – bring her. No one’s going to mind!”

  “Brilliant!” beamed Matt, then glanced worriedly at his watch again.

  Sitting in the garden of the country pub. Matt caught himself grinning like a buffoon at the sight of Gabrielle sitting opposite him across the white, wrought-iron table. Luckily, she was smiling back at him, looking just as happy to be with him as he was with her.

  Why did I feel so nervous earlier? Matt wondered to himself. Now I’m with her, she makes me feel so relaxed…

  “OK, Matt. Now I know all about your family and you know all about mine…”

  The middle daughter of three, with cool parents, is big pals with her older sister who’s got a job as receptionist at the fitness centre, which is how she came to be there that night… Matt recounted silently, memorising everything Gabrielle said.

  “…and we’ve covered favourite music…”

  She loves dance music too, same as me.

  “…and what we want to do…”

  Social worker or special needs teacher; she hasn’t decided yet.

  “…and I’ve met your friends and you’ll meet mine really soon…”

  The same group of five girls whom she’s hung out with since way back in primary school.

  “…but the one thing we haven’t talked about yet is past girlfriends and boyfriends,” she smiled. “That’s traditional to talk about when you
first go out with someone, isn’t it?”

  Matt felt his skin go clammy and cold. What would Gabrielle think of him if he told her about his past record? How, since he’d left boarding school and come back to Winstead to live, he’d made up for lost time (and some) by – as Cat once put it – dating anything with a pulse?

  And what about Cat, for that matter? How would Gabrielle feel knowing that he and Catrina had a past together? That he’d treated her pretty despicably too? Without realising it, his fingers began to drum agitatedly on the cool metal of the table.

  “Um- er… you first!” he stumbled, trying to buy himself some time.

  “Well,” said Gabrielle, dropping her eyelids down over her velvety brown eyes and reaching out to curl her fingers round Matt’s wildly drumming ones. “It’s like this…”

  She flicked her eyes back up and gazed at him.

  “You’re it.”

  “What?” asked Matt, not entirely trusting that he understood what she meant.

  “You!” she laughed at his startled expression. “You make up my whole history of boyfriends! There hasn’t been anyone before you!”

  Matt gritted his teeth together and found himself speechless. He’d never been out with a girl who hadn’t dated before. Of course, he knew girls like that – Maya had never had a boyfriend, and Kerry hadn’t till she started going out with Ollie – but he’d never considered going out with one before. They’d just seemed too… well… naive for him.

  And what’s she going to think about my track record now? panicked Matt. She’ll see me in a totally new light – she’ll think I’m a real creep!

  “Come on then,” Gabrielle giggled shyly after her proclamation. “Your turn! Tell, tell, tell!”

  There was only one thing to do, Matt decided, his heart thumping fit to bust.

  Lie.

  “Just drop me here, this’ll be fine,” said Gabrielle as Matt’s car pulled up outside a terraced house.

  With only the yellow streetlight to illuminate the interior of the Golf, Matt thought her skin looked even more like dark amber marble than ever.