A sense of longing hit me so hard, my heart physically ached inside my chest. I dragged my gaze away before they made me cry, and my focus immediately zoomed in on the list of names until the letters danced before my eyes. If I wanted what that couple had, what Gemma and Ben had, what every other goddamn person on the planet except me seemed to have, then maybe Operation: Popping the Cherry was the key.
‘So, I just have to go on a few dates and see if any of these guys get my mojo going enough to want to … you know …?’
‘Exactly.’ Gemma grinned at me, looking mightily pleased with herself. ‘You see, ladies, I told you she’d get it,’ she said, exchanging high fives with the others. ‘So what d’you say, Lena? Are you up for it?’
Am I?
Deep down, I knew they had only my best interests at heart but they were staring at me so hard, my skin prickled. The vibe coming off them was so strong, I was left in no doubt whatsoever that they wanted me to do this. No, they really wanted me to do this. A bead of sweat broke out on my forehead and trickled down the side of my face. Nobody could make the decision for me, but even my gut instincts had abandoned me, leaving me to figure it out on my own. I could say no, but then what? I risked upsetting my friends and becoming even more of an outcast. They’d called it an intervention, but the longer I took to think about it, the more it weighed on me like an ultimatum: my friends or my virginity?
‘OK, I’m in,’ I blurted, before I could talk myself out of it again.
‘Yay!’ Gemma did her clapping thing. ‘Now, on to the deadline.’
‘What? Nobody said anything about a deadline.’
‘Go on, you tell her, Piper, seeing as it was your ingenious idea.’
‘Well,’ she said, her eyes glinting with pride. ‘What better date than your birthday, what with it being Valentine’s Day?’
‘Isn’t it just perfect?’ Gemma was having way too much fun with this.
‘Yeah, great,’ I said flatly.
‘Plus, it gives you loads of time to meet someone you like,’ she added. That much was true at least. ‘And there’s no time like the present, eh?’ she said, waving at somebody who must have just come into the canteen.
‘Huh?’ I turned in my seat and followed her gaze all the way to the guy from her Drama class—Sean something-or-other—who returned her wave and changed course.
With a sinking feeling, I checked the list of candidates. Sure enough, Sean Cole was in at number three. And he was now headed our way. There wasn’t time to fold the shortlist neatly, so I screwed it up in my fist and rammed the damning evidence into my bag. From my hunched position, I watched as a pair of brown suede Vans came to a stop directly behind me.
‘Hey, Gemma,’ said a deep voice with a soft Scottish lilt. ‘Did you want me?’
Caught red-handed, I froze, still collapsed in my chair like a moron. You could always rely on me to make a good first impression—not!
‘Hey, Sean.’ Gemma’s voice sounded muffled from my position beneath the table. ‘I thought it was about time I introduced you to my best friend.’
Say what?
I shot up so fast that I caught the back of my head on the edge of table, hitting it hard enough to make a loud bang. If Sean had any sense he’d back away slowly from the crazy girl before I did anything else stupid. Instead, he hovered, waiting to be formally introduced. Maybe he felt sorry for me, or thought he was being punked. Once my eyes stopped watering, I glared at Gemma, giving her my best evil eye. To her credit, she didn’t bat an eyelid; the drama lessons were clearly working for her.
She didn’t even react when I ‘accidentally’ kicked her under the table as I twisted in my seat to meet cherry-popping candidate number one. Sean was standing so close to my chair, I had to tip my head right back to see him. The weird perspective made him look like a giant. He could probably see straight up my nose, too. Jeez, would my misery never end?
‘Hi, you must be Valentina,’ he said, turning his brown-eyed gaze on me and offering me his hand.
‘Yep, that’s me,’ I said, placing my hand in his. ‘But everybody calls me Lena.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Lena,’ he said, bending from the waist in a bow. Cute and charming, but I felt nothing, no tingles or flutters, not even when Sean lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss onto the backs of my fingers.
‘You too, Sean.’ I could see why he was taking drama. Sean practically oozed charisma, definite actor calibre. In fact, he probably had a whole entourage of swooning groupies already, and judging from the sigh I’d heard behind me, Flick was more than willing to become a fully fledged member. My friends weren’t the only ones capable of playing matchmaker. ‘So tell me, Sean, have you been introduced to Felicity yet?’
‘No, I don’t believe I have.’ Sean followed the direction of my free hand.
The moment his and Flick’s eyes met, I was all but forgotten. Excellent.
‘Sorry to dash off,’ I said, ignoring Gemma’s scowl as I stood and lifted my bag onto my shoulder. ‘I have to get a book from the library before my next class, but it was lovely to meet you, Sean.’
‘You too, Lena,’ he said.
‘Oh, I need to go to the library, too,’ Gemma said, leaping to her feet. Her smile didn’t fool me for a second. ‘We might as well walk together.’
Oh goody!
‘Sure thing,’ I said, struggling to maintain my happy face. ‘Bye, then, see you all later.’
‘Bye,’ came the chorus of voices.
Gemma pounced the moment we were out of earshot. ‘You haven’t really got to go to the library, have you?’
‘Nope.’
‘So what the hell was all that about back there?’
‘All what?’ I said, feigning ignorance. Gemma wasn’t buying it. ‘Look, it’s no big deal. Sean wasn’t my type, that’s all, whereas Flick was just begging to be introduced. Could you not feel the vibe coming off them?’
Gemma slipped into her own thoughts for a moment and then relaxed. ‘Yeah, OK, I’ll give you that one. They did look pretty hot for each other. And all that hand-kissing stuff is right up Flick’s street.’
Phew!
‘Precisely. It was only fair to pay it forward.’
‘So where are you off to in such a hurry?’ Gemma asked.
And there was I, thinking I was off the hook.
‘I’ve got a free period, so I’m off to the baker’s. All of a sudden I could murder a pain-au-chocolat. I couldn’t possibly think why, though, could you?’
‘Uh-oh.’ Gemma came to a standstill and caught hold of my arm to stop me from walking off without her. ‘Lena, are we OK?’ she asked, all the aggression gone from her voice. ‘You’re not mad at me?’
Wow, she seemed proper worried. Scared, maybe.
‘No, we’re cool,’ I said, drawing her into a hug. ‘It’s been a crazy couple of days, what with yesterday, and now this … this mission. I just need some time to process it all.’
She did the single-eyebrow thing, as if she could tell I was holding back. ‘You sure that’s all it is?’
‘No.’ What I really needed to do was tell her how much I hated Operation: Popping the Cherry, but how could I when it had been her idea? ‘Yeah, I’m sure,’ I said instead.
Gemma still didn’t look convinced. Her lips were thinner than usual, and she wouldn’t stop trying to use her X-ray vision on me. Time to change the subject before I cracked.
‘So can I get you anything while I’m out? I know it’s not a patch on Donovan’s but it still hits the spot.’
She huffed out a sigh. ‘No, thanks, I’ve blown all my calorie allowance already. I don’t know where you put it all.’ Gemma checked her watch, then pulled me into another hug. ‘Right, I’d better get back inside before the bell goes. Talk to you later, yeah?’
‘Will do. Go on, you’d better run,’ I said, shooing her towards the main building. The bell rang right on cue. ‘Bye,’ I called out to her hastily retreating back. She tossed her hand up as
a wave and carried on power-walking.
Idiot that I was, I didn’t think to dump my text books before I left college. I envied Gemma’s speed and agility when the walk to the baker’s took longer than usual, thanks to the weight of my bag. My shoulder throbbed and sharp, stabbing twinges kept shooting up my spine in addition to the rapidly worsening tension headache. At least I’d had enough sense to bring my painkillers with me.
I fell onto the shiny silver bistro chair as if it was my new best friend—my long-lost brother even—and the old woman behind the counter shot me a sympathetic smile. She came to the table to take my order, which the staff weren’t supposed to do, so I must have looked as much of a wreck from the outside as I felt on the inside. I winced as I lifted my heavy bag onto my lap. Damned if I could find the stupid pills, though. My bag had turned into Mary Poppins’s carpet bag somewhere on the walk and I spent forever rummaging through the crumbs and hair bobbles. Man, I needed to clean out my bag more often!
OK, so it would have helped if I’d remembered putting them in the zip pocket on the front at the outset, but I figured it out in the end. Triumphant, I tossed the white plastic packet onto the table and nearly knocked the tray out of the woman’s hands.
‘Omigod! I’m so sorry,’ I said.
What a klutz!
If I kept this up, I’d do someone an injury. Maybe I should be using my free period to draw up a poster? A warning to everyone to stay away from me for their own safety. For an old lady, she had better reactions than I had. She managed to save my huge mug of mocha, extra sugar, and my pain-au-chocolat from hitting the deck.
‘No harm done,’ she said kindly.
Sure enough, the only evidence of my stupidity was the big slop of cream sliding down the side of mug. And it was getting away. I lunged forward to ‘save’ it—which makes it sound as if I actually had a choice in the matter—and blocked its path with my finger. The cream with its dusting of cocoa settled along the length of my finger. I had it now. Dipping my head to meet my finger halfway, I shoved the gooey spoils into my mouth and moaned as my taste buds took over.
The woman laughed and said, ‘I’d have done exactly the same.’
Oops!
I’d forgotten I had an audience. I offered her a feeble smile, my cheeks warming rapidly. She patted my shoulder, then turned and walked away, but I’d barely managed one bite of my pain-au-chocolat before she was back.
‘Get those down you,’ she said, indicating the painkillers and plonking a glass of water in front of me.
Man, I must look bad.
I half expected her to watch me take the tablets, as my mum used to do when I was little, but she shuffled back behind the counter and left me to it. Only when I was certain she wasn’t about to pop up over my shoulder again did I risk getting the crumpled sheet of paper out of my bag. Even then, I kept it out of sight beneath the table, too ashamed to be caught with it. I grabbed my phone out, too, and checked for messages. Nothing. Good. So I put it on the table next to my mug.
After another quick scan of the baker’s-stroke-café, I was satisfied no one was watching me. A tingle of excitement buzzed in my fingertips as I spread the page across my thigh, pressing it firmly with both hands to ease out most of the creases. Time to check out the nominated ‘candidates’ and also try to come up with a few of my own. I’d read only halfway down the list when the door opened, drawing my attention, and in walked one of the guys from college. I knew that only because I’d seen him on the same bus as I’d been on nearly every weekday since September, the mysterious emo guy who always sat at the back with his headphones in his ears and his eyes closed.
Fascinated to see him with his eyes open and actually moving, I watched him stride over to the counter to place his order. His body language and his voice exuded a level of confidence that made me pay close attention whether I wanted to or not. He was dressed all in black, his skinny jeans and black T-shirt a complete contrast to his pale, angular face. His long, midnight-black hair fell loose over his shoulders, easily as long as mine, reaching past his shoulder blades. When he turned to look around for somewhere to sit, his bright green eyes met mine.
Who is he?
Instead of being embarrassed, caught staring, there was something hypnotic about him that stopped me from averting my gaze. One side of his mouth cocked into a half-smile and he gave me a single nod by way of greeting, breaking eye contact only when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. His order ready, he turned his back to me and—just like that—the spell was broken, releasing me. I reached for my latte, drinking deeply with my eyes closed, gripping the mug to stave off the sudden chills.
Sensing movement near me, I opened my eyes. A tall, dark figure appeared in my peripheral vision and my heart fluttered. Emo Guy was already halfway across the room, mug in hand, and the list was spread out on my lap. Lunging for my bag would be too obvious. I had to think fast. The fluttering sensation turned into a hammering but my fingers still worked. Keeping my movements small, I folded the list in half, then discreetly slid it between my thighs and crossed my legs to hide it.
Close up, he seemed even more vampire-like—in true Gothic style—and I half expected to see fangs when he opened his mouth. Emo Guy wasn’t my usual type at all, but he was definitely hot in his own kind of way.
‘Hi, Lena isn’t it?’ he asked.
The words for my planned introduction dried up in my mouth—he already knew my name—so I gawked up at him and nodded like an idiot.
‘Mind if I join you?’
This time I shook my head, still scrambling to find my voice.
‘Thanks.’ Emo Guy cocked another grin, as if pleased with the effect he’d had on me. I’m glad it pleased somebody, because it was doing my head in. He put his mug of steaming black coffee onto my table, then nimbly eased into the seat opposite. ‘My name’s Hayden.’
Hayden.
Why did his name sound familiar?
Hayden did most of the talking—the usual small talk—and the next half an hour flew by. I wasn’t at all surprised to learn he was a musician—it was either that or acting. After two failed attempts at eating my pain-au-chocolat without making a mess, I gave up and wrapped it in my napkin, but it gave me the excuse I needed to grab my bag. I stowed the shortlist at the same time as the pastry.
Phew.
The alarm on my phone sounded, signalling that my free period almost over. I had to get going: I couldn’t afford to miss another English lit class, but I didn’t want to appear too keen by asking to exchange numbers. Hayden followed my cue, though, and walked back to college with me; he even carried my bag. As we went our separate ways to get to class, I hoped I’d see him again, especially once I realised why his name was familiar.
I didn’t have to wait long. Hayden sought me out on the bus home and plonked himself into the empty seat beside me. I almost cheered out loud, the envy of half the girls on the bus. His leg brushed against mine and a faint zap attacked my senses. When he invited me to come and watch him play on the Friday night, I couldn’t hold back my smile, and with his name already on the shortlist, there wasn’t a single valid reason to say no. Operation: Popping the Cherry was go-go-go.
Chapter Three
STRANDED
It took me the rest of the week to come up with my own candidates, what with all the umming and ahing. Despite my reservations, I had to admit the list of candidates was looking dang fine. It was impossible to not feel even a teeny bit excited.
‘We’re off in a minute, love,’ Mum said, poking her head through the gap of the open door.
‘Oh, OK,’ I said, trying to sound natural and not burn myself as I straightened my hair. ‘Have fun. I hope you win.’
‘So do I. It’s been a few weeks and your dad’s poor ego’s getting dented.’
I forced out a laugh. ‘I bet.’
Mum’s smile faded and her brow creased into a frown. ‘So how do you know this Hayden again?’
‘He goes to my college, except he’s in
Upper Sixth.’ My hand started to shake, so I put the straighteners down.
‘What time is he picking you up?’
‘The band are swinging by to pick me up on their way to the gig. They should be here in about ten minutes or so.’
Mum’s lips pursed and her right eyebrow twitched. ‘The band?’
Oops. I must have forgotten to mention that bit.
‘Yeah. Hayden’s the lead guitarist.’ Probably best not to mention the band was called, Screwed. ‘They’re quite good, apparently.’
OK, so I’d never actually heard of them until that week, but Mum didn’t know that. I couldn’t even tell her what kind of music they played, let alone if they were any good or not, but it was safe to assume they were more likely to be a heavy-rock band than a boy band.
Mum tried to give me the all-seeing-eye treatment and I had to fight the need to flinch. ‘And how long have you known him?’
‘Since September.’ I stretched the truth to get her off my case. ‘He even gets the same bus to college as me,’ I said, boldly meeting her gaze.
‘Hmm …’
In the silence that followed, we both heard a car pull up outside the house.
‘Is that your taxi?’ I asked.
She crossed to my window.
‘Yes it is,’ she said, looking out. ‘I’ve got to go. Just …’ Mum hesitated then let out a sigh. ‘Be careful,’ she said eventually. ‘And make sure you take your phone with you.’
Too damn right.
‘Will do.’
Going out with Hayden was one thing, but the prospect of getting into a van with a bunch of strangers was making me nervous enough without Mum adding to my paranoia. Not now I’d finally convinced myself it would be fine. That was before I knew I’d be crammed in the back of an old, beaten-up Ford Transit with Hayden, two other guys, a set of drums, two amplifiers, three guitars, a keyboard and some microphone stands.
Every time the van screeched around a bend, we all slid from one side to the other, trying not to get crushed by the equipment falling and rolling everywhere. The pain didn’t end there, either. Once they started their set, my eardrums hurt, too. Appropriately named Max, the lead singer preferred shouting and hollering to actual singing, with the band thrashing out one song—ha!—after another with no respite.
Popping the Cherry Page 3