Leader of the Pack (Bryant Rockwell Book 3)

by Jacky Gray

19 Liv’s Makeover

  Liv’s dilemma hadn’t budged an inch; the signals Jimmy gave out in the past few days had been totally mixed. After a lukewarm lift home on Thursday night, and total absence on Friday, he’d been all over her at the ice rink. But if she dug down, his heart didn’t seem to be in it. Every hug and kiss smacked of possession rather than passion. If anything, it felt more like he was putting on a show of being a doting boyfriend. His audience? Liam, Luke and, most especially, Ray. And now this insistence on going shopping with the girls? Something didn’t stack up.

  Although she had serious doubts, the others didn’t seem to mind. When she and Jude returned from the loos, there seemed to be a bit of an atmosphere between Liam and Kat, which didn’t get any better as they struggled through the Saturday afternoon traffic. Kat didn’t want to elucidate, so Liv dropped it as they made their way to the fountain where they were supposed to meet Jimmy, a few yards away from a dozen parking places for motorbikes.

  They got there a couple of minutes later than the arranged time. When he hadn’t shown up after five more minutes, Liv told the other two to make a start and she’d meet them downstairs in Debenhams by the jewellery at twenty-five past.

  “You’re going to wait another fifteen minutes for him? That’s crazy; it’s really cold out here.”

  “He might have got stuck in traffic. We did, remember.”

  “On a bike? No way, he’d just sneak through the middle like most of them do.”

  “Whatever. I think he’d wait more than five minutes.”

  As she checked for a message, the display went black despite the battery being at 86% when she left the ice rink. She made a mental note to plan ahead while her mobile was playing up. In her mind, a phone which didn’t die at least once a week was an absolute essential. Appeals to her parents fell on deaf ears: Her mum seemed half convinced, but her dad was adamant she couldn’t have the new one until Christmas. He had a problem with the time spent on the Internet as well as talking to people who she saw every day. She’d tried suggesting a pay-as-you-go contract, but he wasn’t prepared to listen, especially after the diet thing.

  Like a numpty, she had no written record of Jimmy’s number, and she didn’t like to think about how he might react if he turned up and she wasn’t there. As if to underline her gross stupidity, an icy blast of wind made her shiver. Next time, she’d arrange to meet inside a shop. As she glanced longingly at the door to New Look, Carla and Danielle walked out. There was no universe in which Danielle wouldn’t come up and utter the immortal words: “Hi Liv, been stood up?”

  “No, I’m early. Are you Christmas shopping?”

  “Why else would we be braving town on a Saturday this close to Christmas?” Carla shuddered. “I’m not into crowds at the best of times.”

  “What about the atmosphere? The lights and the carol singers and the cool market stalls with crystals and candles ...” Liv tried her best but, between them, they had all bases covered.

  “And being shoved and jostled everywhere you go. And they’ve always just sold out of whatever you want ...” Carla handed the baton to Danielle, who did a mean “bored shop-assistant” voice.

  “But we’ll have another delivery on Monday.”

  “… when we’re at school. And even if they have got it, you have to wait twenty minutes to pay behind some old dear who’s counting out seven pounds twenty-eight in pennies ...” Carla obviously spoke from painful experience.

  “Sounds like you two have had a fun morning. NOT!!” Liv grinned. “It’s a good double act: Doom and Gloom. A great advert for Christmas.”

  Danielle deadpanned it. “And only another three hours to go. Come on, babe. Let’s grab a coffee somewhere.”

  Carla’s smile oozed sympathy. “Hope he turns up soon; you look frozen.”

  “Yeah, bye.”

  She glanced at her watch: twenty-three minutes past. He obviously wasn’t coming, and the cold was seeping through to her bones. Not quite so much padding, now. She grinned at the thought and set off to find the others, hoping to tempt them toward a café.

  They didn’t take much persuading; the morning’s activity had left them all ravenous.

  “Well, well. I can’t believe you stood round like a lemon for twenty minutes waiting for him and he didn’t even show up.” Jude shook her head and took a huge bite of burger, the melted cheese and pickle squidging out over her fingers.

  Liv shrugged; having just taken a mouthful of tuna salad baguette, she had a good excuse for not replying.

  “Maybe he had an accident on the bike; they’re lethal when it’s icy.”

  “Cheers Kat.” Liv nearly choked as she swallowed. “Make me feel better, why don’t you?”

  “I only meant there’ll probably be a good reason. I’m sure he wouldn’t have stood you up on purpose.”

  “It’s not like it was a date or anything. You sound like Carla and Danielle: the Gloom sisters.”

  “What?”

  Liv told them about their conversation by the fountain.

  “That’s silly. There’s no better time of year to come into town, especially when it gets dark and the lights twinkle like stars.”

  Although she knew Kat was simply trying to distract her from worrying, Liv smiled at the picture her artistic friend painted.

  Kat continued her musing. “And a queue of kids waiting to have their picture taken with Santa always brings a lump to my throat.”

  “Yeah it makes me want to throw up as well.” Jude’s wit could have given the Sahara a run for its money in the dryness stakes.

  “Brat. You know full well I didn’t mean that.” Kat slapped her arm.

  “Oh humbug. Let’s just agree to disagree. What are you going to wear for this big date with Jimmy?”

  “The sixth form Christmas disco is quite the fashion parade.” Kat used her best US teen voice.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it. I got a new black skirt when I went out with Terry. It looked quite good; I suppose I could get a sparkly top to go with it.”

  “Listen to this. ‘I suppose’ nothing. What you really need is a whole new wardrobe. I bet all your clothes hang off you now, don’t they?” Jude’s careless comment wasn’t intended to wound – Liv knew her friend’s foot-shaped mouth could rival her own.

  She nodded. “Funnily enough, Mum said last night I should save up my Christmas money for the January sales.”

  “That’ll be too late. We need to get you an outfit, today.” Kat went into director mode. “Come on, eat up and let’s go.”

  After the seventh trendy clothes shop, they were about to give up on the idea when Kat spotted the perfect dress. Liv wasn’t sure and took a couple of other dresses into the cubicle to try on. She dutifully modelled them all, leaving Kat’s choice ’til last. It felt good on, but her minor misgivings escalated as Snarky groused about the length of it.

  As she went out, Kat clapped. “Perfect; it looks so good on you.”

  “You don’t think it’s like, way too short?” Liv tried to check out her rear view in the mirror.

  “No way. The black one wasn’t any longer.” Kat nudged Jude for some support.

  “You have to realise your legs look good after all your hard work.” Jude would never get the hang of the pure, snag-free compliment. “You can show them off without worrying.”

  “I suppose if I got some slightly higher heels it wouldn’t be so bad.” Liv lifted up an inch to test the theory, but Snarky threw in a glitch about the colour. “Don’t you think it’s a little bright? I can’t wear red.”

  “Yes you can; it looks great, honestly.”

  This time, Jude didn’t need a prompt from Kat. “You’ve got the right colouring: it’s not a bright red, more crimson than scarlet.”

  “Or ruby. And it fits perfectly.” Kat was now in danger of gushing.

  “You don’t think I should try next size up?” She plucked at the waistline, concerned about the lack of give in the material.

  “No, that’s
is perfect.” Jude couldn’t help herself. “You weren’t planning on eating, were you?”

  “I knew it was too tight.” Snarky’s told-you-so made Liv’s face fall.

  “Rubbish, I’m only teasing. Anything bigger would hang off you. And at that price, I don’t see how you can turn it down.”

  “Yeah, it’s a real bargain, and I’ll get to wear it a lot over Christmas.” Liv twirled around, loving the way the skirt flared out. Then reality hit. “But I haven’t brought much money.”

  “We’ll sub you the rest; you can pay us back on Monday. You have to have this dress.” Kat wouldn’t hear otherwise, marching to the checkout and putting down a small deposit to hold the dress for a week.

  They dragged her into the discount shoe shop next door where she got a smart pair of strappy black sandals for a can’t-pass-it-up bargain price.

  Then Jude spotted a pair of earrings with a matching necklace in Claire’s Accessories which would go perfectly with the dress.

  Liv held them to her ears where they sparkled with buy-me-now brilliance. She returned them to the display wall. “They are lovely, but I really can’t afford to spend any more on one outfit.”

  The others looked at each other and nodded; they’d obviously been discussing this.

  Jude grinned her best fairy-godmother grin. “How about if we clubbed together and got them for you for Christmas?”

  Liv shook her head. “But that’s no good; the disco is next Saturday.”

  “Yeah, but we’d let you wear them for one night.” Kat twinkled. “Then you give them back for us to wrap and give to you properly.”

  “So, Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.” Jude had to spell it out.

  It would have been rude not to complete the set. “I just hope I won’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight.”

  “Ha ha.” Jude high fived her. “Now, can we concentrate on someone else for a change?”

  “Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate your efforts. I hope it’ll all be worth it. How about we club together for the other presents as well? You could get a DVD or something?”

  They spent the next hour sorting out joint pressies for Kat and Jude and puzzling over what they could get for the guys in their lives. Liv didn’t want to tempt fate by choosing one for Jimmy.

  When she got back from town, the sight of his bike outside the house surprised her. She found him sitting in the kitchen chatting to her mum as she prepared the dinner. The sight of his broad shoulders, although not quite so muscular as Ray’s, still had the power to do funny things to her insides.

  He stood as she entered. “Hi, Liv. Hope you didn’t wait too long for me. I was explaining to your mum how the bike broke down at the lights and I spent the afternoon chasing down and fitting a new alternator.”

  “Bug ...” She glanced at her mum. “Oh, dear. Is it ok, now?”

  “Yeah, fine. I had visions of you standing there freezing and calling me all sorts of names. I wanted to let you know I couldn’t help the delay, but I couldn’t get through.”

  “Thanks.” She brandished her phone. “Battery died. I was worried; Kat said you might have had an accident on the bike.”

  “Shame I didn’t have Kat’s number, I could have called her to let you know the score.”

  “That would have been good. I’m getting a new phone for Christmas.”

  “Look I know it’s short notice, but would you like to come out tonight? I was supposed to be working but they’ve had a big party cancel and they don’t really need me.”

  Liv tried to conceal her reluctance. Being out all day had exhausted her, and she didn’t fancy going out with anyone. She wanted to find out about the things Luke had mentioned, but a date wasn’t the place to do it. And anyway, she didn’t really want to hit him with that stuff after he’d been good enough to come round and explain about the bike. Thankfully, her Mum came to the rescue.

  “I don’t think you should go out again, dear, after being out all day. Sorry, James. She needs to take it easy this week; then she’ll be ok for next Saturday.”

  “Of course. You do look tired, love. Take it easy and I’ll see you at Monday lunchtime. Goodbye, Mrs Tranter, and thanks for the coffee.”

  “You’re welcome. Bye.”

  Liv followed him out to the bike and his hug enveloped her with warmth and a tantalizingly familiar smell. “How long did you wait?”

  “Twenty minutes. We were a bit late ourselves with the traffic and I wasn’t sure if you’d been and gone.”

  “I would have waited for at least half an hour for you. Hope you didn’t get too cold.”

  “I soon warmed up when we had some coffee. Thanks again for coming round; I appreciate it.”

  “Couldn’t have you worrying about me, could I?” He bent and gave her a quick kiss, then put on his helmet and started up the bike, waving to her as he took off.

  When he’d disappeared, she stood for a few seconds trying to work out how she felt about him. Still with the mixed signals, although away from the others, his affection seemed more genuine.

  He’d been charming at the ice rink, if a little OTT – embarrassingly so at times – but she understood his need to impress Liam and Luke. So much of Jimmy’s psyche revolved around the big-tough-gang-leader persona. She knew the daft race with Luke only happened because he wanted to show off, but he’d accepted his defeat good-naturedly, buying drinks for everyone. Occasionally, in unguarded moments, she saw glimpses which told her he’d probably grow out of it in the not-too-distant future. But was she prepared to wait that long?

  On the plus side, he genuinely seemed to get on with everyone, except possibly Ray. Once or twice, she caught them staring – as though sizing each other up. Which was strange because she’d never said anything to Jimmy about her friendship with Ray. Let’s not forget that kiss. Ignoring Snarky’s reminder, she continued her musing. Why would she mention Ray when he was going out with Mel? Except he’d said something at the ice rink about Liv avoiding him. The ghost of a memory flitted across the front of her head, but she blinked before it could settle there.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to recreate the atmosphere in the ice rink. She’d sat on the bench next to him and he stopped her when she tried to stand. They’d talked about Mel’s address; then he was looking at her as though she’d given him the answer to life, the world and everything.

  “Liv. Why are you standing out here in the cold with no coat on? What’s wrong?”

  Liv opened her eyes at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Nothing, I … I’ve just got a bit of a headache, is all.”

  “You’ll be lucky not to catch a cold. You look very pale.” Her mother felt her forehead and frowned. “What you need is some downtime – a bit of a rest. Come on in and have a hot drink.”

  The evening proved cathartic as she joined the family watching one of her favourite movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, losing herself in the plentiful comedy and action. When the movie finished, Liv read, but her thoughts constantly returned to the ice rink. Each time she tried to recall what Ray had said, her head began to hurt. In the end, she gave it up as a bad job, making a mental note to ask him on Monday.

  By Monday, Liv had forgotten all about it, but she hardly spoke to Ray until the physics lesson. When she’d walked in from lunch, he asked her about the lab he’d missed on Thursday, saying something in the notes didn’t make sense.

  She was sitting next to him, explaining the complicated procedure, when Luke arrived and sat at the table behind. Liv offered to swap seats, but Mr Langley walked in and Luke whispered not to bother.

  It was strange sitting next to Ray in physics. Once or twice, she thought she felt his gaze upon her, but when she glanced at him, he always seemed to be concentrating on the blackboard or his book.

  At the end of the lesson he turned to her with a strange look on his face. “I suppose he’ll be taking you home tonight?”

  “Yeah, he said he’d pick me up later.”

  “So that’s it; you�
�re dumping all your mates for this guy? You don’t sit with us at lunch anymore, or walk home with us. Jude said poor Kat was on her own for a couple of breaks last week.” Then his tone got really bitter. “I suppose you really shouldn’t even be talking to me.”

  “What? Don’t be daft; I can talk to who I like.” Remorse tempered her annoyance. “I know I neglected Kat, but I don’t have lunch or go home with him every day. And we came skating on Saturday.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “What do you mean?” Liv had no clue what caused this anger.

  “I’ve been hearing some pretty nasty stories about your Leader-of-the-Pack character.” Ray’s curled lip screamed his distaste.

  “Who from?” A beat. “I suppose you’ve been talking to Luke.”

  “Amongst others. I just don’t trust the guy, he’s ...”

  “Don’t bother; I’ve heard it all before.” Liv went on the attack. “And anyway, why should you care? You’re going out with Mel.”

  20 Not-so-Subtle Cupids

  Ray knew he was on dangerous ground, especially with Luke’s less-than-subtle efforts. Liv was about to flounce off in a huff but, as she picked up her bag to go and sit somewhere else, he grabbed her arm and spoke quickly. “Don’t you remember anything I said on Saturday? I told you there was nothing going on with Mel, she just wrote to me a couple of times and I sent her the show dates, but that was it.”

  “You mean, you’re not an item?”

  He was vaguely aware of Jude walking in and sitting elsewhere as he answered Liv’s question. “No.”

  Her expression telegraphed, “Really?” as both eyebrows shot up several inches. “Does she know that?”

  As she spoke, Dr B walked in and, such was the power of the biology teacher, Ray had no time to reply until the lesson ended.

  “Before you dash off, Liv. I’ve been thinking about what you said about Mel.”

  She unshouldered her bag with a wary look. “And?”

  “You’re right. I suppose she might have thought I was keen because I wrote back to her. I’ll let her know there’s no future for us.”