by Lynsey James
I purse my lips to stop myself giggling; I’m glad he’s not here to see me acting like a lovestruck teenager. ‘I’m pretty great, thanks. Aching from head to foot, though! You might’ve crossed my mind once or twice today too. Maybe.’
Hearing him laugh over the phone is almost as good as the real thing. ‘I’ll take that “maybe”, if you agree to come to dinner with me tonight. I know we said next week, but I don’t think I can wait till then.’
I wince. ‘Sorry, I’ve just made plans to go out for a drink tonight! Maybe we could do it tomorrow night?’
‘Oh!’ Scott sounds disappointed, but he’s trying to mask it by being overly cheerful. ‘That’s cool. Yeah, we can definitely do it another night. Hope you have fun, and let me know how your date goes.’
I burst out laughing, despite trying my best not to. ‘It’s not a date! I’m going for a drink with my friend from Carb Counters; she’s been going through a rough time recently and we’re going out to cheer her up a bit. It’s nice you think I’m so in demand, though! Very flattering.’
‘Well, you’re smart, gorgeous, funny, a wicked dancer… I wouldn’t be surprised to hear I’ve got a lot of competition!’ Scott chuckles. ‘Anyway, have fun tonight and we can go out tomorrow night if you want?’
‘You’ve got a deal,’ I say, unable to hide my bright grin. ‘Can’t wait!’
‘Me neither. See you soon, beautiful.’
We say our goodbyes and he hangs up. I’m so happy I have to do a little chair spin. Surely this is too good to be true, I say to myself. I haven’t heard the nagging voice of self-doubt in ages, I’ve met a gorgeous man who seems to like me, and the world seems full of possibilities.
It seems like nothing can go wrong.
*
I get to the Bell and Candle to meet Zara a few minutes earlier than planned. I’ve manoeuvred myself into a pair of jeans and what my mum would call “a nice top” and I’m feeling pretty good.
When I push the door open, I notice the place is as packed as ever. My first port of call is the bar; as far as I can see, Zara isn’t here yet so I decide to get the drinks in in the meantime.
There’s a free stool, so I hoist myself onto it before swiftly changing my mind. My bum slides everywhere and I decide to jump off before I fall off in full view of everyone.
‘What can I get you?’ a very harassed-looking Ben asks. His cheeks are bright red and his brow’s glistening with sweat. ‘Sorry, it’s slammed in here tonight!’
‘Gin and slimline tonic for me, and a vodka lemonade,’ I reply with a sympathetic smile.
‘Tell me about it! We’ve got two parties in here tonight and they both want to order drinks at the same time. I couldn’t keep a booth free for you tonight, unfortunately. Sorry about that.’
I shake my head and hold up a hand. ‘Don’t worry about it, seriously. I’m sure I’ll find a table somewhere. Emma says hi by the way.’
She hasn’t, but there’s no harm in playing matchmaker, is there? When I see his cheeks pink up, I can tell I’ve done the right thing.
‘She, er, actually texted me yesterday, asking if I fancied doing something this weekend. I really wanted to ask her, but I wasn’t sure if she liked me or not. Thought she was a bit out of my league, if I’m honest. She said you’d had a word, and I’m really grateful. If you hadn’t, we’d probably still be trying to figure out how the other one felt!’
I can’t resist a grin. ‘Just call me Cupid, eh? I’m glad you two have finally sorted things out; anyone could see how crazy you are about each other. Apart from the pair of you, obviously!’
Ah, young love. My mind conjures up romantic daydreams of Scott and I feel myself leave the Bell and Candle behind for a bit. I’ve never been a big daydreamer, but it’s easy when you have someone utterly gorgeous to think about…
‘Cleo?’ Ben’s voice cuts through the fog of self-doubt. ‘Did you hear what I said?’
‘S-sorry… I was miles away. What were you saying?’ I give myself a shake to see if I can bring myself back to the present moment.
‘I was saying here’s your drinks,’ he replies with a kind smile. ‘That’s three eighty-five please.’
‘One of those better be for me.’ I turn to see Zara making herself comfortable on the stool I haven’t long since vacated.
‘Of course!’ I slide the vodka lemonade along the bar to her, flashing her a smile. ‘Are you ready for a fab night?’
Zara picks up her glass and clinks it against the one in my hands. ‘Always, darling. Always.’
*
After a few drinks, the world around me softens at the edges and everything seems a little warmer and brighter than usual. I’m pleased to see none of my usual insecurities has come to the surface so far tonight. I was able to pick my outfit with relative ease – something that almost never happens – and I didn’t feel my anxiety flare up when I walked into the pub. For once, it feels like I’m in complete control. I’ve waited forever to feel like this.
Zara raises her fifth glass of vodka lemonade and looks straight at me, her eyes glassy from drinking slightly too much.
‘To us,’ she says, her words slightly slurring. ‘To two independent women who don’t need no men.’
I clink my glass against hers and chuckle. ‘I think I might be letting the side down on that front. Ended up kissing a trainer from the gym I go to. I was teaching him how to salsa dance and one thing led to another.’
My friend raises her eyebrows in approval and leans further across the table, pushing it slightly further in my direction.
‘Can I see a picture of this handsome gym trainer?’ she asks with a wink.
I go to call up a Facebook profile for him, and soon wish I hadn’t. The first thing I see when I look at it is a picture of him and a very sweaty-looking Amanda during one of their gym sessions. She’s got her arms round his neck and has that simpering smile on her face. It’s captioned “This one really knows how to put me through my paces! Thanks for another terrific session, Scott!”
‘Here he is with the lovely Amanda,’ I say, turning my phone around to show her the photo. ‘We were at school together.’
Zara grimaces. ‘Hello, Malibu Barbie! I’m guessing by the look on your face that you two didn’t really get along?’
I shake my head, finishing off the rest of my drink for Dutch courage. ‘No, not really. The short version is she made my life hell all the way through school, but even more so after my accident.’
I tell her about my accident and its consequences, finding it easier than ever to talk about things that used to cause me so much pain. It feels like I might finally be consigning them to the past where they belong, instead of letting them dictate how I live my life.
Zara shakes her head and passes my phone back to me. ‘So, she was a typical mean girl then? I had plenty of those in high school too; the pretty, popular and perfect ones who get off on making others feel inferior. Know what I learned about them? They’re not as perfect as they’d like us to believe they are. More often than not, they’ve got their own problems they’re trying to deal with and they end up projecting them onto people around them.’
Something about this strikes a chord with me. ‘I’ve never thought of it like that before,’ I admit. ‘Amanda’s always been like a pantomime villain to me; I’ve never thought about her having her own problems and flaws.’
Just then, the pub door swings open and in she walks. She looks perfect as always, with her blonde curls, skinny jeans and leather jacket. If they’d ever made a Rock Chick Barbie, she’d have looked exactly like Amanda. Our eyes lock for a brief moment; she gives me the tiniest dirty look, then carries on walking.
‘Is that her?’ Zara asks, nodding her head towards her.
I nod. ‘That’s her. Perfect, isn’t she?’
When I take a proper look at her, though, something hits me. She’s just a person, exactly like me. She doesn’t have any of the Disney villain power she previously had, or strike fear int
o me. She’s… just Amanda Best.
‘I used to be absolutely terrified of her,’ I say with a chuckle. ‘Not so much any more, though.’
Zara’s silent for a minute as she smiles at me. After a beat, she speaks again. ‘How are you doing with the bucket list you were telling me about? I thought it was such a cool idea.’
I take great pride in filling her in on my progress, even telling her I’ve booked a sky-dive.
‘Wow, you’re really going for it! You’ll have to make another one soon to keep yourself busy. I might even make one of my own one day; I’ve got so much I’d like to do, but I’ve always assumed my size would hold me back.’ She looks down at her stomach then back at me. ‘I’m not exactly built for sky-diving, am I?’
‘You’re built for whatever you want to do,’ I reply. ‘Scott said to me that the number on the scales will only hold me back for as long as I let it, and he was right.’
As I remember his wise advice, I feel a smile spread across my face. I’ve managed to carry it through tonight; I feel more confident than I ever have and I’m relaxing in a social setting for the first time in ages.
‘Sounds like Scott’s been working wonders for you,’ Zara remarks with a grin. ‘Although it sounds like you’ve been working wonders on yourself too. You’re so different from the girl who slunk into Carb Counters a year ago.’
‘Oh, I forgot to tell you!’ I say, ‘Claudine’s offered me the chance to train to be a leader! She liked the way I stood up to Marjorie and said I’d make a good group leader. She gave me some information on it and I told her I’d think about it.’
Zara’s mouth drops open. ‘What are you going to say?’
‘I’ve been thinking and I think I’m going to go for it,’ I reply.
Before Zara can say anything else, the pub door swings open and Scott walks in, followed by his friends. He looks over and smiles at me, running a hand through his dark hair. Two pops of colour appear on his cheeks and it’s ridiculously cute.
‘Look… at… him!’ she says, nudging me and sticking her tongue out. ‘He’s very cute!’
I’m too busy smiling at him to string a coherent reply together. As my eyes slide over to the bar, I can see I’m not the only one to have spotted him: Amanda has, and she’s definitely on the prowl.
Something tells me this isn’t going to end well.
Chapter Twenty
I watch as Amanda homes in on Scott, anger bubbling and boiling up inside me. He smiles politely as she sashays up to him, but his expression quickly turns to terror as she perches on the end of his table. The rest of his friends look really impressed, but Scott looks like he’s trying to find the quickest exit route.
She leans in and whispers something in his ear, and his eyes widen with shock. My legs take on a life of their own and I leap out of my seat. My inner calm takes a backseat and is replaced by pure adrenaline. I know what Amanda’s game is – she wants Scott for herself – and I’m not standing for it.
‘Excuse me a second,’ I say to Zara. ‘I’ve got to go and sort something out.’
‘Go get your man,’ she replies with a wink.
I’m across at Scott’s table in seconds; it’s funny how anger can give you previously undiscovered superpowers.
‘…So it was really just a big misunderstanding,’ I hear her say. ‘Cleo always liked to exaggerate; she was always making up stories, but everyone learned not to take her seriously. Ask yourself this: if I treated her so badly, why’s she coming to the reunion I’m putting together next month?’
‘Because I want to see how everyone’s doing after all this time,’ I reply. I take great delight in seeing my nemesis jump a little. ‘How are you, Amanda?’
‘Cleo!’ There’s that irritatingly sweet voice again, the one she thinks fools everyone. ‘I didn’t see you when I came in. How are you? Are things still good at the bakery?’
‘Things are fabulous at the bakery, but maybe that’s just me exaggerating again, eh? Anyway, I’m here to see Scott.’
His muscles visibly relax as he realises I’m handing him a get-out-of-jail-free card. ‘Yeah, I said I’d meet Cleo here to discuss her fitness plan. Sorry.’
I expect Amanda to deliver a catty comment, but instead she slides off the table and heads off back towards the bar.
‘That was too easy,’ I say, watching her like a hawk. ‘She’s probably regrouping or something!’
Scott chuckles and pulls me down onto his lap. ‘Let her. There’s only one girl I’m interested in at this pub, and it’s not her.’
He reaches up and kisses me to a chorus of whoops and cheers from his circle of friends. My entire body tingles with happiness; this is a whole new experience for me, and it feels all shiny and new. I beg my brain not to make me sing ‘Like a Virgin’ out loud.
‘Mate, you need to tell me your secret,’ the bloke I know to be called Chris says, giving him a round of applause. ‘That’s two gorgeous women you’ve had over here in the last few minutes!’
Scott throws his hands up and shrugs. ‘Only one beautiful woman in here for me, mate: this one right here. Guys, this is Cleo. Don’t call her Cleopatra or she’ll hurt you. Cleo, these are my mates, Gary, Chris, Dave and Simon.’
He points to each of them in turn as he says their names, and I shake hands with them.
‘Nice to meet you all!’
‘It’s nice to finally put a face to the name,’ Gary replies. ‘All Scott’s been going on about the last few weeks is Cleo this, Cleo that. We were beginning to wonder if you were real or not!’
I turn to look at Scott, who’s covering his face to hide his obvious embarrassment. I snuggle closer to him and put my arm round his neck.
‘Is that true?’ I tease, kissing his cheek.
‘Thanks, Gary, way to drop me in it, mate!’ He groans and moves his hand away from his face, flashing me that smile of his. ‘I may have mentioned you to the lads once or twice.’
‘Well, I’m flattered.’ I reach over and kiss him again. ‘Now, I have to get back to Zara; I’ve left her on her own and she still needs cheering up. Can I trust you to stay out of trouble where Amanda’s concerned?’
He narrows his eyes and kisses me one more time. ‘Scout’s honour. I’ll be giving her a very wide berth, I promise. Why don’t you two come and join us? There’s plenty of room and I quite like you sitting here with me.’
‘Zara’s just split up from her husband, so I think she’s after a girly night out, just the two of us. I’ll ask her, though.’
I get up off his lap and turn to head to the bar to order more drinks. Scott catches my hand in his and squeezes it before I leave. When I go to the bar, I can hardly keep the smile off my face.
‘Don’t get too comfortable.’ Amanda’s real, poisonous voice comes from my left. ‘Once a Chunky Monkey, always a Chunky Monkey. You know what they say, Cleo, a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Or, in your case, a hippo doesn’t change its mud.’
‘You don’t get to call me that,’ I say, my voice soft and dangerous. ‘I’m not Chunky Monkey any more.’
Amanda scoffs and sidles up to me. ‘It’s sweet you think that, Cleo, it really is. You think you’ve left it all behind, but you haven’t. Not really. I bet you’ll go home from the pub tonight and binge your little heart out. It’s what you’re good at.’
I grit my teeth and clench my hands into fists. It’s a wonder there isn’t steam coming out of my ears.
‘What exactly is your problem with me?’ I ask. ‘You’ve always hated me, but you’ve never said why. Even now, ten years after we’ve left school, you can’t resist having a dig. Why? What do you get out of it, eh?’
She tilts her head to one side and sticks her bottom lip out. ‘Aww look, Chunky Monkey’s fighting back. You’re a joke, and I get a kick out of letting you know you’re a joke. You used to prance round the school thinking you were better than everyone else because you were a dancer. You should be thanking me for taking you down a peg or two. Well,
I suppose the accident helped with that too. Made you into the Chunky Monkey you are today, didn’t it? And if you think I’m going to treat you any differently just because we’re older, you can think again. I’m the better one, Cleopatra, and I always have been.’
I let out a wry chuckle. ‘You know, I feel sorry for you, Amanda. The only way you can get validation is by trying to make other people feel miserable. What an empty, pathetic existence you must have. How does it work? You make my life hell to make yours better?’
‘My life’s just fine, thank you very much!’ For the briefest of seconds, I see my enemy’s mask slip a little. Maybe things aren’t as fine as she’d like everyone to believe they are. For someone who claims to love the fast pace of city living, she’s been spending an awful lot of time in Silverdale. ‘I’ve got a successful job, a fancy apartment in Manchester, a massive circle of friends… What do you have? Nothing!’
She turns to walk away before changing her mind. ‘Oh, and I wouldn’t get too comfortable with Scott either. He’ll get tired of you and see you for what you are eventually. When he does, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Ciao for now!’
I badly want to pull her back by her hair and smack her in the face, but I don’t. Instead, I order and pay for my and Zara’s drinks then carry them back to the table.
‘How’d it go with Scott and Malibu Barbie?’ she asks as I pass her the vodka lemonade I got for her. ‘Looked like a mixed bag from where I was sitting.’
‘Mal… Amanda was her typical bitchy self, but sitting with Scott for a minute was actually really nice. He said we could go over and join them if we want, but I wasn’t sure if you’d fancy it.’
I look over to see Scott raising his pint glass in my direction. One smile from him and I feel like a lovestruck teenager. Butterflies in my stomach? Check. Racing heart? Check. Instant access to Cloud Nine? Most definitely.
‘Are you kidding? A group of gorgeous, sweaty men might be exactly what I need!’ Zara chuckles, but it subsides quickly. ‘Nah, I don’t think I’m quite ready to thrust myself back into the dating game just yet. I’m happy to sit back and let you do your thing with your hunky new bloke if you want, though.’