Dating Dilemma

by Michelle Leyland

“Chad said he’ll meet me at Bliss,” says Gina, sounding quite excited.

  I quickly send a text message back to Matthew, explaining the arrangement.

  “I so wish I could take my boyfriend,” says Chloe, looking all miz.

  “Never mind, you’ll see him over the weekend,” I remind her.

  I feel my mobile buzz as a reply arrives from Matthew:

  I’ll meet you outside Bliss. Can’t wait xxx

  I quickly reply back: Can’t wait 2 c u either xxx

  I’m buzzing with excitement. Wednesday night at Bliss is going to be the best night out ever!

  Chapter 22

  Unfortunately, I don’t get to see Matthew on Monday night. I’m gutted when he texts me after school, saying he has a practice exam on Wednesday morning and needs to stay in and revise. However, I know his exams are mega important, especially as he’s taking GCSE exams in a few months’ time; so Matthew and I agree to see each other on Wednesday night as planned and I can’t wait.

  Tuesday seems to fly by and Wednesday we are all buzzing with excitement at going to Bliss tonight. Nearly everyone in the school is talking about it and will be going too.

  We meet at Gina’s house as planned and get ready, then walk there together, feeling hyped up. Kate sees Jamie waiting at the park and runs ahead to greet him.

  By the time we’ve strolled over and caught up, they’re still kissing and cuddling. They see us approaching and quickly break apart, look embarrassed and start walking ahead. I stay talking with Gina and Chloe while we follow behind them.

  When we arrive at Bliss, I see Matthew stood outside looking out for me and quickly go over, feeling shy. I introduce him to everyone and he doesn’t seem at all nervous, acting friendly and chatty with them. I really wish I could be like that around guys I didn’t know.

  When we start queuing up outside the entrance, Matthew casually reaches out to hold my hand and I can’t help blushing madly. I feel so proud to turn up at the club with him and know that all the girls around will presume he’s my boyfriend!

  Kate and Jamie join up with the other lads, who are waiting in the queue before us. They don’t seem at all embarrassed anymore about showing that they’re in a relationship and Jamie even has his arm around her.

  When we finally arrive inside the club, I look around in amazement. It’s very trendy, with a huge dance floor, flashing disco lights and a DJ blasting out new, cool tunes.

  There’s a bar decorated with silver fairy lights at the side of the room, so we all go over to buy some fizzies. Obviously they aren’t allowed to serve any alcohol at the bar tonight.

  We all sit together on the white leather sofas stretched out around the walls and chill out for a while; listening to music, chatting and sipping our bottles of Pepsi. Not many people go on the dance floor at first, but soon a few girls get up to the dance to a cool song. I sit watching them and Chloe suddenly nudges me.

  “Look at Lee over there,” she whispers to me and giggles. “He looks well cheesed off.”

  I glance over to where she is looking and see Lee hanging out with two guys nearby. He’s looking enviously over at Chad, who is sitting close to Gina on the sofa and feeding her crisps. I must admit, it really does look like they are a couple; even though we know from Gina that they are still just friends. No wonder Lee looks so jealous.

  “Do you think he regrets finishing with her now?” I ask Chloe quietly, thinking that he does look pretty gutted.

  “Definitely,” answers Chloe. “Serves him right anyway. Lads usually only realize stuff when it’s too late.”

  I giggle. I hope Matthew hasn’t overheard Chloe calling guys stupid, but luckily he’s too busying talking with Jamie to overhear.

  “Gina and Chad look pretty close now, don’t they?” I say. “I bet they end up together by the end of the night.”

  “Yeah, definitely; I said that all along,” answers Chloe. “No wonder Lee is getting all jealous. I bet he wishes he was the one who is cuddling up to Gina right now.”

  We see Lee walk away, looking pretty miffed.

  “I feel kinda sorry for him,” I say, feeling a pang of sympathy. He must feel how Gina felt when she saw him with Chelsea. “It must be hard for him to see Gina with someone else, especially now he’s been dumped.”

  “He made his choice so he’ll just have to deal with it.”

  I feel really happy for Gina though. She looks so happy as she laughs with Chad, unaware that Lee was nearby. She deserved to find a nice guy after what happened with Lee and I hope she will finally be able to move on. Gina and Chad would make a cute couple.

  “Matthew’s pretty nice, I think you got a good one there,” says Chloe, looking over at him.

  I look at him too, feeling my heart fill with happiness at knowing that he’s actually here to be with me.

  “Yeah, I think so too,” I say, feeling so incredibly lucky. I still can’t believe I’ve found a wonderful guy who is so close to becoming my boyfriend.

  Matthew catches me looking at him and smiles, making me blush. I smile back, feeling shy all over again. He leaves Jamie and comes back over to me.

  “Wanna dance?”

  “Yeah, okay,” I answer, with a big smile on my face.

  He takes my hand and we walk over to the dance floor. I’m so excited that I finally have a guy to dance with…but then I start to feel all shy. I’m so nervous I completely forget how to dance. I don’t even know how to dance with a guy yet!

  I look back at Chloe for help, knowing she will know what to do. She gives me a look as if to say ‘just go for it’, so I start to dance the way I usually do with the girls. I even pretend that I’m just dancing with them, so I won’t feel so shy.

  I start to wiggle my hips to the music like Chloe does and feel more relaxed. I feel Matthew put his arms around my waist as I dance and feel a flood of excitement rush through me at feeling him so close. He gently puts my arms around his neck and we dance together for the rest of the song.

  “Thanks again for inviting me,” he says into my ear. “I’ve loved meeting all your friends, they’re really cool.”

  “It’s okay, and I bet they’ve really loved meeting you too,” I say, feeling thrilled that they all get on so well. “It’s cool that we can all hang out together.”

  We dance for a few more songs, and then he asks, “Do you want to go outside for a while?”

  “Okay,” I agree, feeling tired from dancing.

  He takes my hand and leads me through the crowds of people until we finally reach the entrance. The person at the door lets us go through first, before dealing with the rest of the people waiting outside.

  The cold, night air makes me shiver and I start to wish I’d worn a jacket over my light blue top.

  “Here, take my jacket,” he offers generously and carefully wraps it around me to keep me warm.

  “Thanks,” I say, feeling wonderful to wear his jacket. I never want to take it off. I want to cuddle up inside it forever and just think of him.

  We stand outside the club and it’s much quieter outside, although we can still hear the thudding of dance music from inside.

  “I’ve wanted to talk with you for a while now,” he says, “so I thought maybe this would be the right time.”

  I look up at him, feeling nervous.

  “I really like you, Vanessa,” he says, looking shy, “and I was hoping that maybe we could go out with each other, if that’s what you want?”

  I’m so happy! I feel like soaring through the stars.

  “Yes,” I answer, feeling so incredibly happy that he wants me to be his girlfriend. “I’d love to.”

  He smiles at me, looking very happy too.

  “Good, ‘cause I don’t know what I would have done if you’d turned me down,” he jokes.

  “I would never do that,” I reassure him. “I really like you too.”

  He strokes my cheek affectionately and then leans forward and kisses me. I’m dizzy with excitement as I feel his lips on
mine. He’s such a great kisser that I melt inside.

  I feel dazed as we break apart. My head is buzzing because I still can’t believe it. I have finally had my first kiss with the best guy ever and he’s now my boyfriend! I’m sure I’ll wake up any minute and find out the whole thing has been a dream; but luckily it’s real.

  “Do you want to go back inside before they send out a search party?” he asks jokily. “I don’t want your mates to worry about you.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I agree, although I feel like staying out here with him forever.

  We go back into the club, holding hands, and Kate immediately springs on us as soon as we get inside.

  “We’ve been looking for you,” she says.

  “Sorry, we just went out for some fresh air,” I say, although I blush so much it’s pretty obvious that it was more than that.

  “Well, are you coming for a dance with us or not?” she asks me.

  I see Gina and Chloe waving over at me madly from the dance floor. I look back at Matthew, not wanting to leave him.

  “Go on, have fun,” he assures me. “I’ll be fine talking with the lads for a while.”

  “Okay. Thanks,” I say, handing his jacket back to him reluctantly.

  I give his hand a squeeze to show I’m really grateful that he’s letting me hang out with the girls for a while. He smiles back at me to show he understands, and then Kate drags me off to the dance floor.

  We join Chloe and Gina, who are still dancing.

  “What have you and Matthew been up to?” asks Chloe suspiciously.

  “Yeah, we saw you both sneaking outside,” teases Gina.

  “They were snogging,” says Kate and grins at me.

  I blush madly, feeling my whole face heat up and turn red. Had Kate really seen us kissing?

  “Were you?” asks Gina, starting to giggle.

  “We did kiss a bit,” I admit shyly.

  They all give me a hug and tell me how happy they are for me.

  “So he’s asked you out?” asks Chloe, looking excited.

  “Yeah, he did,” I answer, still feeling stunned. “I can’t believe I’m finally no longer single.”

  “I’m chuffed for you; but tell him that if he ever hurts you, I’ll make him regret it,” jokes Kate protectively and I laugh.

  I happily dance along with them, feeling as if I can dance away all night long because I’m feeling so high with excitement. I feel so incredible lucky, but not just because I have a boyfriend. I have three, amazing best mates who will be there for me when I feel sad and lonely, and also be there to have fun when I’m feeling as happy as I am right now.

  I don’t know why I’ve been so obsessed with getting a boyfriend. I’ve already had something much better right in front of me all this time. Sure, having a boyfriend feels like the best thing in the world, but I know from Gina that boyfriends don’t always last.

  I’ll make sure I enjoy every second of being Matthew’s girlfriend for however long we’re together. Even though I know there’s a chance he might not be long term, I know that my three best friends will be there.

  I’m sure nothing can ruin our hyper mood as we dance the night away…but then Lee appears beside Gina and I know immediately our night out is ruined…

  Look out for the next book of the series!

  Break-up Dilemma

  (Book 2)

  Coming soon!

  Turn the page for a fab dating guide written by the characters!

  The Girls:

  Cool Guide to flirting and dating

  By Chloe, Gina, Ven and Kate

  Flirting

  What to do:

  - Give compliments:

  Tell a person they look nice, have nice hair, nice clothes etc. Even if they don’t fancy you back, they will still be pleased that you’re saying something good about them.

  - Say you look forward to seeing them:

  Implying that you enjoy their company will make them feel good.

  - Ask them to go somewhere with you for a date.

  If things don’t look good, you can always make out you were inviting all your mates along too, so it sounds like a normal hang out.

  - Look at them and smile.

  If they smile back, that’s a good sign. If they just look away, they might not be interested or they’re just being shy.

  - Talk to them about something that their interested in. They’ll like to talk about their hobbies/interests.

  - When talking by email or message, add a wink sometimes to make the conversation more flirty; but don’t put them too much or they’ll get freaked out by it.

  What not to do:

  - Don’t follow them around, they won’t like stalkers.

  - Don’t be way too obvious or throw yourselves at them, guys sometimes get scared off by that kind of thing.

  - Don’t try touching them or hugging and kissing if you’re not up to a dating or relationship stage, it’ll make them feel uncomfortable.

  - Don’t constantly talk, email or text them. You don’t want them to think you’re their new stalker.

  - Don’t try to make them jealous to get their attention. This will either put them off or hurt them.

  - Don’t flirt with other people around them, even if you’re single. They like to think that they have your full interest.

  How to tell if they like you too:

  - They’ll smile at you.

  - They might flirt back.

  - They talk to you and act friendly.

  - They try to impress you.

  - They talk to you about something you like.

  - They remember stuff about you.

  - They text, email or talk to you a lot.

  - They give you compliments.

  If they haven’t done any of the above, don’t worry too much. They might be too shy or embarrassed, or haven’t had the chance to do it yet.

  How to tell someone that you’re not interested

  What to do:

  - Tell them when they’re alone. They won’t want to be upset or feel embarrassed in front of other people.

  - If you have fair reasons for not liking them, be honest. If you don’t want to be with them for reasons like because they smoke or other things that can be changed, let them know and they could change for you.

  - If the reason is because you don’t feel attracted to their looks, try getting to know them instead of judging them based on that. It’s pretty shallow and you might like them once you see the real them.

  - If you don’t like their personality, just tell them you don’t think of them in that way and that you can only be friends. Telling them their bad points could hurt their feelings so be careful about what you say.

  - If the reason is for bad habits, like having a reputation, cheating or sleeping around, tell them straight that it puts you off. You should also suggest fixing bad behaviour such as being rude or selfish.

  - If it’s for an unfair, mean or hurtful reason, just say you aren’t interested and don’t say why. If you do, you’ll hurt their feelings and probably regret what you said and feel very guilty.

  What not to do:

  - Don’t tell them in a bad way, unless they have done something to deserve it.

  - Don’t gossip about it to everyone and make fun of them about it. You wouldn’t like to be treated that way.

  - Don’t pretend you are interested just to spare their feelings; it will just lead them on and make you feel unhappy.

  - Don’t say you’re not interested because they’re not good looking enough or they are “out of your league”. It can make you look shallow and arrogant if you don’t give someone a chance and get to know the real person they are.

  - Don’t say you’re not interested if you secretly are. Guys like you to be honest, so tell them the truth. If you feel embarrassed or shy to say you are, try to work on it.

  Best places to meet guys:

  - School, college or work.

  - Clubs (under or over sixteen), bars and pubs.


  - Parties

  - Restaurants, take out places or cafes.

  - Sports centres

  - Town Centre

  - Shops

  Guys to consider before going out with:

  - One of your friend’s/family member’s ex-boyfriend:

  Your friend or family member might feel upset or jealous if you go out with a guy who used to be with her. If you really want to be with him, talk to your friend and see what she feels about it. She might be okay and not mind; but if she does have issues, try to work them out. It’s best not to choose a guy over friends.

  - Someone who your friend or family member fancies:

  They’ll be really upset if the guy chooses you over them, so talk to them and give them time to get over it. They might fall out or avoid you for a while, but hopefully you can work things out and stay friends eventually.