Authors: Patricia Puddle
“Yeah right, is that why he walks around half
naked even in the middle of winter?”
I sigh. “You wouldn't be jealous of him,
would you?”
He frowns. “Why? Should I be?”
Ignoring him, I check my phone for messages. Hopefully,
Mum won't call tonight. Shoot. I should have told Seal not to answer the phone,
but surely he won't.
“We're here,” says Tom, turning into Richie's
street.
Cars and motor bikes are parked on both sides
of the road, but then I spot someone leaving. “Look, there's a place.” I point
to a Toyota backing out.
“That's a bit of luck,” he says, parking the
car. Then he jumps out to open the door for me. “Come on, Elle, the party's
gonna be a blast.”
As I step out, I'm nearly deafened by loud
music booming from a huge white marquee in Richie's back garden. I wait for Tom
to lock the car, then as we walk up the driveway to the party, Tom wraps his
arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head, “I'm glad you changed
your mind and came out with me tonight, Elle.”
Though I don't feel happy, I smile at him. There's
a full moon and the stars are twinkling, but I can't seem to get into a party
mood. Glancing around at all the happy faces and colourful lights, I wonder why
I'm not enjoying myself. Everything feels so surreal since I met Seal. It's like
I'm watching the world through a window. I blow out a breath. All I want is to
be at home with him, but apparently that's out of the question. Life sucks
sometimes.
Brooke comes running towards us, holding her
camera. She looks stunning in a figure-hugging black dress and knee-length
leather boots, and as always, her long black hair is styled to perfection. ‘Hi,
you two,” she says. “Smile for the camera.”
Before I have a chance, she clicks the button
and the flash goes off. Oh great, I hope she doesn't post it on the web. “You
look fabulous, Brooke,” I say, giving her a hug.
She hugs me back. “Hey, Elle, you look pretty
hot yourself.
You too, Tom."
Tom's mates call out to him and he heads over
to talk to them. “I'll be back in a tick, Elle.
Brooke glances at him, then at me. “How come
you didn't answer my messages?”
I shrug. “I've been busy with visitors, I
didn't get a chance. I haven't even been on my computer for two days.”
She leans close to me and whispers, “Ruby and
I thought you weren't coming. We heard rumours that you're two-timing Tom with
some hot guy.”
My eyes go wide. “Who told you that, Tom?”
She grabs my arm and pulls me towards her. “A
new girl in our class said she saw you walking along the promenade with a
gorgeous muscly hunk. Who is he, Elle? Are you cheating on Tom? Is that why
you've been in hiding?”
I gulp. But before I have a chance to answer,
Tom comes back and hands me a diet cola. “
You coming
in the tent, Elle? It's rocking in there. The band is great and there's heaps
of food and drink.”
I give him a feeble smile.
“In
a bit.
It's too noisy to chat over there and Brooke and I are catching
up first.”
“Okay, but don't be long.” He strides back to
the marquee.
Brooke holds her mouth. “Oops, I hope he
didn't hear me.”
“It doesn't matter if he did. He knows about
the guy on the boardwalk anyway.”
‘What guy?” asks Ruby, walking towards
us.
She gives me an air kiss. “We miss you at school, Elle.
It's a pity you left.”
“Hey, I'm starting a job in a pet shop on
Monday. I'm so excited.”
Ruby sips on her diet pop. “That's great,
Elle, but if you'd stayed at school for another year, you could have gone to
Uni with Brooke and me. Why don't you come back?”
“I hate school, besides I'll be doing some courses
at college. I really want to be a vet nurse, but first, I have to overcome
fainting at the sight of blood.”
Brooke laughs. “Yeah, we miss seeing you
faint. That was hilarious when you threw up on Mr Bradley's desk in science,
then fainted on him. He didn't know what to do.”
I scrunch my face up. “Oh, don't remind me.
That was so embarrassing.”
“What was embarrassing?’ asked Francesca,
walking towards us, a glass in her hand.
“Never mind,” I say, staring at her beautiful
crimson dress. “You look fabulous in that silk dress.”
She downs her drink, her perfect blonde curls
trailing down her back,
then
she twirls around. “Yes,
and it's a designer label. Isn't it divine?”
“Anything exciting happening yet?” asks Brooke.
Francesca moves closer to us. “Oh, yeah,” she
whispers. “There's this guy in the back garden, and boy is he hot. And guess
what? He's not with anyone.”
The little hairs prickle on the back of my
neck and I raise a brow. “Oh? What does he look like?” Surely it's not Seal
come to check up on me?
Ruby pushes my arm. “Hey, you've got Tom.
Leave the hottie for us to fight over.”
Cupping her hand over her mouth, Brooke
whispers in my ear. “Yeah, and who else do you have?”
Heat rushes to my face and I gulp. “I'm not
sure Tom and I will be together much longer. We're sort of growing apart. And
anyway, I can look at a hot guy if I want.”
Francesca's jaw drops.
“You
and Tom breaking up?
But you've been together for months.”
I shrug. “I know, but we were just friends to
start with, and now he wants more.”
Ruby snorts into her hand. “Don't they all?”
Francesca pushes her and laughs. “Don’t you? I
certainly do.”
I sigh. “Yeah, but only with the right
person—a soul mate.”
“What?” Francesca slaps her cheeks. “Eloise
O'Connor, don't tell me you're still a virgin.”
I stare at her. “Yes, I am, but so what? Aren't
you?”
She rolls her eyes. “Gosh, no, and if you're
waiting for a soul mate, you're just dreaming.”
“What’s sex like?” I ask her. “Does it hurt?”
Francesca smiles.
“At first, but
only a bit.
It’s great when you get the hang of it though. Oh, and make
sure you use protection.”
I scowl. “I won’t be doing anything until I
meet soul mate.”
She giggles. “But what if you never meet ‘Mr
Soul Mate’? I haven’t and I’m not missing out.”
“Come on, girls, we're missing out on a great
party and our soul mates might be here waiting to be discovered,” says Brooke.
She links her arms with Ruby's and mine and pulls us towards the back garden. “Let's
go and check out this so-called hottie.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” yells Francesca. “I saw
him first.” She hurries past us, her stilettos clomping on the pavement, and her
short skirt flapping up behind her revealing her lacy black G-string.
Brooke giggles. “She's determined.”
“Yes, she loves a challenge,” says Ruby. “But
her breath reeks of alcohol. We all know how silly she gets when she's been
drinking. I think we'd better keep an eye on her.”
Zoning out from their gossip, I twirl a stray
curl around my finger. I have to see who this guy is. If it's Seal, I'll die of
embarrassment. It'd be just like him to come and chaperone me, after all, he
declared he'd be my bodyguard until my folks came back.
Chapter Twelve
As we walk into the back yard, I head to the
bonfire to warm my hands. There's a group of guys strumming on guitars and girls
sitting around the fire. Francesca is at the other end of the garden with a tall
dark-haired guy. He's about the same size and height as Seal, but he's looking
the other way and I can't see his face.
Brooke elbows me and laughs. “Look at
Francesca. She's already flirting with the hottie.”
“I don't think we should go over there,” says
Ruby. “We'll look like a bunch of desperados.” She grabs Brooke's arm and drags
her towards the marquee. “Come on, Elle, let's listen to the band and dance.
There are plenty of hot guys in there.”
The smoke from the fire is making my eyes
water, but I have to see if that guy is Seal. “I'll join you in a few minutes,”
I holler. “I'm just getting warm first.”
Ruby holds her thumb up and grins. “Sure you
are.” Then she disappears as Brooke pulls her into the tent.
Smiling, I stroll around the bonfire towards
Francesca. The boy is hidden behind a group of girls, so I crane my neck to get
a better view. As I get closer, Francesca whirls around and glares at me, then she
jerks her head towards the marquee, signalling me to go away.
Ignoring her, I keep walking, but as I walk
past him, I glance over my shoulder and sigh. Thank goodness it’s not Seal. No
way would I want Francesca anywhere near him, but I can see why she’s interests
in this guy. He’s kind of mysterious looking with thick black hair and dark
brooding eyes. He’s about the same height as Seal and has a similar muscular
physique, but to me, he’s not as appealing, or as sexy. In fact he looks kind
of sleazy.
He suddenly looks up at me, catching me
checking him out. My face flushes and I look at the ground. Blow it, now he'll
think I fancy him and I most certainly do not. Seal's the only boy I'll ever be
interested in, even if I can't have him. As I turn to walk away, he rushes over
and grabs my wrist. I freeze as a shock runs up my arm.
Giving me a shufti, he smiles, flashing
radiant white teeth. “Hello, Eloise, I'm Devlin Sulphurous.”
I'm taken aback and I frown. “How do you know
my name?”
He stares at me through thick dark lashes,
his coal-black eyes piercing mine. “I spotted you the minute you walked in.” He
glances at Francesca. “So I asked this lovely young lady if she knew you.”
Francesca smiles, but her eyes give her anger
away. “Don't worry, Elle, I told him you already have a boyfriend.”
My face gets hotter and I feel uncomfortable.
I take a sip of my cola and try to move away, but Devlin moves in front of me,
undressing me with his eyes. “Please, stay and talk for a while, Eloise.”
I gulp and a shiver runs down my spine. How
am I going to get out of this one? It serves me right for upsetting Francesca.
“I have to go,” I say. “My boyfriend will be wondering where I am.” I give him
a fake smile,
then
I take off back the way I came.
Brooke comes running towards me. “Elle, where
are you going?” She peeks over my shoulder. “That hot guy obviously likes you. What
did he say to make you run?”
I glance at him. Francesca has her arm on his
shoulder, but he's still watching me. “Nothing, he just wanted to chat. He may
be good-looking, but I think he's a sleaze. He kept staring at my boobs.
Now Francesca's furious with me.”
Brooke looks over at her. “Aww, she'll be
okay. She has a different boyfriend every week. Anyway, he's a bit old for us. He
looks at least twenty-two.”
“No, he's not,” says Brooke, coming out of
the marquee. “Francesca told me he's only eighteen. Anyway, he's gorgeous, not
matter what age he is.”
I scowl. “Well, he gives me the creeps. I'm
going in the house to the bathroom, and then I'm looking for Tom.”
“I'm coming with you,” says Brooke. “There's
hot food in the kitchen.”
Ruby grabs her purse. “Me too, I want to fix
my hair.”
As we pass the tent, I peek in to look for
Tom. He's sitting on a plastic chair, tapping his foot to the music played by a
live band. Richie's sister walks up to him, hands him a napkin and offers him some
hot food from a plate. Smiling, he takes three sausage rolls and two meat pies.
Just like Tom, the greedy pig. I down the rest of my soda, throw the can in the
bin, and head off to the bathroom. At least I'll be able to find him when I
come back—and knowing
Tom,
he won't stray far from the
food. Who knows, I may need him if that sleaze bothers me again. Then I think
about Francesca and shake my head. We should try and get her away from that guy.
There's something about his eyes that are just flat out creepy.
After leaving the bathroom, I look for Brooke
and Ruby. They're in the kitchen chatting to a couple of surfie guys and
nibbling crackers and dip. I'm not in the mood to chat to boys and I hurry to
the marquee to sit with Tom.
The marquee is packed with dancers as
Johnny Ruffo’s
new song,
On Top
, blasts from the speakers. Tom’s
mates and their girlfriends are on the dance floor going wild, but I can’t see
Tom anywhere. Good old reliable Tom. He’s always around when I need him. I
scowl. If only Seal was here so I could dance with him. I love that song.
With a big sigh, I head back to the bonfire to
look for Tom, but I can't see him anywhere. It looks like Devlin has left, too,
but that’s good. Hopefully, he’s gone home. Then my heart skips a beat. Where
the hell is Francesca? Crikey, I hope she hasn't gone off with Devlin. I have
to find her to put my mind at ease. I run around the garden and search in hidden
places for smooching couples, but I can't find her. I dash back into the house
to look for Brooke and Ruby, hoping they’ll help me search for her, but they're
not in the kitchen or lounge room. Darn it. Francesca will probably be drunk by
now and who knows what Devlin could do to her.