by Jo Cotterill
Danny put a gentle hand under Megan’s chin and tilted it up. ‘Come and get ice cream with me,’ he said in a coaxing voice. ‘You can have whatever you want. Honeycomb? Coffee and walnut? Blueberry sorbet? They’ve got it all, you know.’
Megan pulled a rueful face and gave in. ‘Oh, all right. I suppose I can’t force you into that seat.’
‘That’s my girl.’ Danny put an arm around her shoulders and they walked away from the theatre.
Megan ignored the tiny sorrowful protest inside her.
‘So,’ said Danny, once they had their chocolate brownies and ice cream in front of them, ‘you ever done any modelling?’
‘Me?’ Megan was startled. ‘No, never.’
‘I think you should.’ Danny dug into his brownie with gusto. ‘They love red-heads. And you’ve got good bone structure.’
Megan laughed. ‘What do you know about bone structure?’
‘They told me about it at the agency,’ Danny said complacently. ‘They looked at my photos when I first went in with Samantha.’ He grinned. ‘They said I had better bone structure than her. She was really mad.’
Megan still felt disappointed about the show, but she tried to sound interested. ‘Have you done a lot of modelling?’
‘More than Samantha. There are more girl models than boys so I get more work.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought . . .’ Megan stopped. She didn’t want to offend Danny. ‘I’m surprised you like doing it, I mean.’
‘You get paid to wear stuff and just stand around,’ he said. ‘What’s not to like?’
‘Does it pay well?’
‘Yeah, mostly. Mum and Dad only let me have half though. They put the rest into a bank account.’
‘And you think I could be a model?’ Megan was thawing a little. ‘Am I pretty enough?’
‘It’s not just about being pretty,’ Danny said. ‘It’s about charisma. You know, when people can’t take their eyes off you. You’ve got something that makes people go “wow!”’
Megan raised her eyebrows. ‘Have I got that?’
‘Oh yeah, definitely.’ He grinned again. ‘Why do you think I’m hanging out with you?’
Megan felt a warm glow. She could forgive him for making her miss the second half of the show if he said things like that! He couldn’t take his eyes off her! He must fancy her, then, if he felt that way . . . ‘I really like you,’ she said impulsively, and then bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud!
‘Yeah, me too,’ said Danny, cutting chunks off his brownie with the side of his fork.
Megan blinked. That wasn’t quite the reaction she had expected. Should she say more? ‘I love spending time with you,’ she said. ‘And I love trying out new stuff. You know, like the go-karts and the bikes the other day . . . it was amazing! I never thought I’d like doing things like that. I’ve spent most of my free time dancing, since I was little.’
‘You should try rollerblading,’ Danny said. ‘You’d love it.’
Megan felt a bit frustrated. Couldn’t he see what she was trying to say? ‘What I mean is,’ she said carefully, ‘I really like you. You know?’
‘Yeah. I really like you too.’ He grinned. ‘Are you going to finish yours?’
‘Huh?’ Megan stared. Danny gestured towards her plate. ‘Oh. No – you have it.’
‘Cheers.’
Out of nowhere, Megan felt an irresistible urge to laugh. Were all boys this dense? Here she was, trying to pour her heart and her feelings out to Danny, and he . . . well, he was still thinking about ice cream! She couldn’t help it. She giggled.
Danny looked up. ‘What? Have I got ice cream on my chin or something?’
‘No.’ Megan flapped her hand. ‘No, it’s nothing.’ This was so ridiculous!
‘This is good ice cream,’ said Danny.
Megan giggled even louder. ‘Sorry,’ she gasped. ‘I don’t even know why I’m laughing!’
Danny smiled. ‘You look cute when you laugh.’
That just made Megan laugh even more. He thought she looked cute when she was angry, sad, laughing . . . and yet he didn’t notice when she tried to tell him how much she fancied him! She had to get a grip. Think about something else. Think about dancing. Oh – the Christmas party! ‘D’you want to come to a party? Middle of December.’
Danny looked interested. ‘Yeah, why not? Who’s having a party?’
‘My salsa class. We’re going to hire a hall or something and have a proper party, with fairy lights and a Christmas tree and everything.’
‘Oh.’ Danny didn’t look so impressed. ‘That kind of party.’
‘And dancing,’ Megan went on. ‘You could come and see what I do. What I’m good at. It’s not like Riverdance,’ she added hastily, seeing his expression. ‘It’s proper ballroom dancing. They’ve even asked me to choreograph a jive for the whole class!’
Danny raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that good?’
‘It’s brilliant!’ Megan beamed. ‘The jive is such a cool dance. Will you come?’
Danny looked uncertain. ‘Dunno. It’s not really my kind of thing.’
Megan’s face fell. ‘Oh. Well, see what you think nearer the time. It’s not for another couple of months.’
‘Yeah.’ There was a pause.
‘We’re going out for dinner soon too.’ Megan tried to change tack. ‘The Ace of Hearts is having a salsa evening. Do you know it?’
Danny nodded. ‘Too posh for me.’
‘It’s just for the salsa class,’ said Megan. ‘We’re going as a group next month. It should be a really fun evening.’
‘Yeah.’ Danny sat back and gave a satisfied sigh. ‘That was good. I could eat another whole one of those.’ He looked up and smiled at Megan. ‘You want me to call the agency and ask them if they’d take a look at you?’ Megan looked blank. ‘The modelling agency?’ he prompted.
‘Oh – uh, yeah, OK. That would be great.’
‘Come on.’ Danny got up. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’
It was a beautiful clear evening. ‘Stars,’ said Megan, looking up.
‘Yeah. Not many, are there?’
‘It’s because of all the street lights. We could see loads more in Milton, where I used to live.’ Megan felt sad as she said it.
Danny took her hand. ‘You cold?’
‘No, I’m fine.’
‘Sorry about the show,’ he said unexpectedly. ‘I know you wanted to see it.’
‘It’s all right. I should have known you wouldn’t like it.’
‘I’m just not used to sitting still for so long.’ He gave a sudden leap onto a low wall. ‘My legs just want to keep moving. You know?’ He did a kind of shuffle along the wall, then jumped straight up and landed securely in exactly the same place.
Megan laughed. ‘You should do gymnastics.’
‘Nah. Too much like ballet, all those tights and stuff.’ Danny glanced ahead and his face lit up. ‘You see that flight of steps?’
Megan nodded. About thirty metres ahead of them was a wide flight of stone steps leading up to Parchester’s museum. ‘What about them?’
‘Someday I’m going to jump those on my board.’
Megan gaped. ‘What, the whole flight? From the top to the bottom?’
‘Yup. It can be done, I’ve seen people do it on YouTube.’
‘But that must be . . . how many steps are there?’
‘Twenty-six. I’ve counted them.’ Danny grinned. ‘I just have to get up enough speed. Paul’s going to video me doing it.’
‘But that’s so dangerous.’ Megan waved an arm at the road running past. ‘Even if you jump the steps, you’ll end up in the middle of the road. You could get run over!’
‘I’ll do it at night, duh,’ said Danny, as though she were stupid. ‘When there aren’t so many cars around. Paul can be lookout. Or you can, if you want to come.’
‘Me?’
‘Yeah.’ He grinned. ‘Don’t you want to see me jump this? It would be massive!’<
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Megan gazed at the flight of steps. She could just imagine Danny speeding towards it, kicking off from the ground . . . rising through the air . . . soaring above the steps . . . jolting to a triumphant landing . . . A tiny flame of excitement lit up inside her. It would be massive, he was right. Dangerous, of course – but imagine if he pulled it off! ‘What if you crash? You could really hurt yourself. What if you break something?’
‘Oh, I’ve done that before,’ Danny said airily. ‘My left arm twice, my right arm once, left ankle once too. And a couple of toes.’ He smiled at her and jumped off the wall. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not asking if you want to jump the steps.’
‘As if!’
He laughed. ‘I think you need a bit more practice first, don’t you?’
‘Just a bit.’
He put his arms around her. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll help you practise . . .’ His eyes softened as he leaned towards her. ‘. . . All sorts of things . . .’
Megan closed her eyes. This was her chance to experience it all over again – kissing Danny. But instead of being lost in the moment, she found herself absurdly aware of her left foot, which was definitely lower than her right foot, even though she was standing with both feet firmly on the ground. Was she standing in a hole?
‘Mmm,’ said Danny, breaking away and gazing at her. ‘You’re a good kisser.’
Megan smiled. ‘Thanks.’ She leaned towards him again – maybe she could concentrate this time?
Danny’s gaze flicked back to the stone steps. ‘D’you think I should try to jump the railings at the sides too?’
‘Huh?’ Megan was taken aback. Didn’t he want to kiss her again?
Danny was dragging her over to the steps. ‘Look – they’re not that high. It would make the jump even more awesome, wouldn’t it?’
Megan made a non-committal reply. When she got a chance, she cast a quick look back at the pavement.
She was right; she had been standing in a hole.
Chapter 12
why can’t you just stop interfering?
‘HEY. IS NOW a good time?’
‘Yeah, it’s fine.’ Jake sounded more cheerful this time. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Great!’ Megan hesitated for a moment, but then why shouldn’t she tell him about Danny? He was her best friend, after all. ‘I went out with Danny last night. You’ll never guess what – he said I could be a model!’
Jake was amused. ‘How would he know?’
‘Oh, didn’t I tell you? He does modelling himself. Him and his sister. Well, he says he gets more work than her because he’s a boy. But he said I had really good bone structure and charisma.’
‘Charisma?’
‘Yeah, it’s like when you can’t take your eyes off someone. You know? When you look at them and go “wow”.’
‘Oh, right. I know what you mean.’
‘Pardon?’
Jake cleared his throat. ‘I said, I know what you mean.’
‘So anyway, we went for an ice cream and a walk. And he was talking about this jump he wants to make on his skateboard – this massive flight of steps outside the museum. Totally mad – he could practically kill himself!’
‘Whoa.’
‘I know! He is so wild!’
‘So you went out for ice cream?’
‘N-no, we actually went to the theatre.’
‘Oh?’ She could tell Jake’s ears had pricked up. ‘What did you see?’
‘Riverdance.’ Megan squirmed slightly.
‘Wow! You lucky thing! The only time it came anywhere near Milton, I was ill and couldn’t go.’ Jake sounded envious. ‘What was it like?’
‘Brilliant,’ replied Megan. ‘Really brilliant.’
‘Did they do that thing at the end where they all line up and it’s like they’re almost robots because they’re so perfectly in time?’
Megan bit her lip. ‘Yeah. It was so amazing!’ Why was she lying? She hadn’t seen the end! But she knew if it had been Jake with her, they would both have been glued to their seats, eyes fixed to the stage for the whole performance.
Jake let out a breath. ‘I am so jealous. They say it’s the farewell tour. I don’t suppose I’ll get to see it now. Oh well. What did Danny think of it?’
Megan squeezed her eyes shut and crossed her fingers. ‘He really enjoyed it,’ she lied.
Jake waited for more but Megan didn’t say anything else. ‘And?’ he prompted.
‘And what?’
‘Well – I don’t know. Was it the first time he’d seen something like it? I mean he doesn’t sound like the dancey type.’
‘Oh,’ said Megan miserably. ‘Yeah, it was the first time. He was surprised by how much he liked it, actually.’ She couldn’t believe she was making all this up! But somehow if she told Jake the truth . . . She shook her head. She wanted to preserve the nice moments with Danny. And she wanted Jake to be impressed that she had a boyfriend. He wouldn’t be impressed if he knew that Danny had made them leave at the interval, and Megan realized she really wanted Jake to like the sound of Danny. She wanted Jake to be happy for her.
‘Well, that’s great,’ said Jake. ‘It sounds like you’re a perfect match.’ He cleared his throat again.
‘I think we are,’ agreed Megan, though it sounded unconvincing to her own ears. Was that how she really felt?
There was silence for a moment.
‘So when are you coming down?’ asked Megan, attempting to change the subject. ‘Mum’s cleared most of the boxes out of the spare room and she says there will even be a bed in it by the time you arrive.’ She laughed.
‘Uh, well . . .’ Jake took a breath. ‘Thing is, Megan, I’m not sure I’m coming after all . . .’
Megan felt as though her stomach had suddenly become very heavy. ‘What? Why not? I thought – I thought it was all settled.’
‘Yeah. It’s just that – um . . .’ Jake seemed to be struggling for an answer. ‘Well . . .’
A sudden thought struck Megan. ‘Oh God! It’s not – it’s not because of your stepdad’s redundancy, is it? I mean – is it a money thing?’ ‘Yes,’ said Jake quickly, in some relief.
‘Yes, that’s it. We haven’t got the money. I’m really sorry.’
‘No, I’m sorry,’ said Megan sincerely. ‘I hadn’t even thought . . . could we send you the money?’
‘No,’ said Jake. ‘No, thanks anyway. Mum wouldn’t take it.’
‘I guess not. Oh, Jake.’ Megan felt almost tearful. ‘It’s such bad news. I was so looking forward to you coming.’
‘I know.’ Jake’s voice had steadied and he sounded genuinely sorry. ‘I’m gutted too. Maybe we can meet up at Christmas or something?’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ Megan clutched the phone to her ear more tightly. ‘You won’t – forget me, will you?’
Jake burst out laughing, and then he sobered. ‘Never, Meg. I could never forget you.’
‘I know it’s a pain to move everything,’ said Bryan, panting as he carried a chest of drawers out of Megan’s room, ‘especially as you’ve just got it all where you want it. But it’ll make the painting so much faster and easier. We might even get it all done today.’
‘Humph,’ said Nicola disbelievingly. ‘That sounds unlikely.’
‘Can I help?’ asked Owen, peering round the corner of the door, Snowy dangling from his hand by one leg. ‘I’m good at painting.’
Nicola laughed. ‘You certainly are, Owen. So I tell you what: you and me will have our own painting party downstairs.’
Owen pouted. ‘I want to help Megan.’
Nicola looked helplessly at Megan.
‘I’d love you to help,’ said Megan to Owen. She crouched down. ‘I’m only using one colour, though. Just lilac. Everything will be lilac.’
‘Just lilac?’ Owen looked perplexed. ‘No red?’
‘No.’
‘Yellow?’
‘No.’
‘Blue?’
‘No.’
Owen’s fac
e creased further as he tried to think of more colours. ‘Orange?’
‘No,’ said Megan. ‘But downstairs, Mummy’s got all those colours. And more.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. But I’d love you to help up here if you’d like to.’ Megan held out a paintbrush.
Owen considered it for a moment before shaking his head. ‘No thank you. I think I’ll help Mummy downstairs.’
Megan pretended to look disappointed. ‘Oh, all right. If you’re sure.’
‘I am.’ Owen turned and headed down the stairs. ‘Come on, Mummy.’
‘See you later,’ Nicola told the other two. ‘Give me a yell if you need something.’
‘Coffee?’ suggested Bryan.
‘Get it yourself,’ retorted Nicola good-humouredly.
‘Charming.’
Once Nicola had gone, Megan’s dad opened the window and shook out the dustsheets. ‘Got to cover everything up,’ he told her. ‘Paint is a bug—uh, very difficult to get out of a carpet.’
‘You don’t have to pretend not to swear in front of me,’ said Megan. ‘I have heard that word before, you know.’
‘It’s inbuilt,’ said Bryan apologetically. ‘When you have children, you soon learn that they repeat everything you say. I learned that the hard way.’ He peered at her. ‘Are you OK? You look a bit pale.’
‘I’m all right.’
He looked sympathetic. ‘You must be disappointed about Jake not coming down after all this week.’
‘Yeah, I am. It’s almost like we were never in Milton, Dad. Like we’ve got no connection any more.’
‘You and Jake?’ Bryan raised his eyebrows. ‘I’d have said you had an unbreakable connection, what with your dancing and everything.’
‘Not just Jake – everything back home. It’s all different here. And as for dancing . . .’ Megan sighed. ‘I miss that too.’
Her father carefully tucked the dustsheet round the edge of the carpet. ‘I can see how it must be frustrating.’ He frowned. ‘We haven’t done enough to find you a class. I’ve been so caught up in everything at work . . .’