Chapter 26

Stevie McGabe

The last thing I thought I would see when I turned up at my granddad’s house was my best friend hanging out with Darryl and his friends. Rhea flops down on the guest bed and I climb up after her, settling on the cloud-like pillows next to her.

“Have I stepped into some alternate reality? Since when do you associate with Darryl and Smit?!”

Rhea rolls her eyes, sitting up and scraping her hair back into a messy ponytail. “He came and helped rescue Angelo from some little bully twat-heads earlier. Turns out his baby bro was the one really getting picked on, and Angelo was just trying to stick up for him.

“Any guy who has strong family values gains points in my book.”

“Hmmm,” I shrug. “I guess it’s the one thing I could never fault, was his love of his little brother and his folks.”

“So, are we thawing a little on bad boy Darryl?”

I huff out a laugh. “He’s no bad boy…confused maybe, but not bad.”

“I don’t know,” she replies, raising an eyebrow at me. “He seemed to channel a hot bad boy easily enough earlier.

All those threatening words kinda got me hot. Teamed with that sexy body…” she whistles lowly. I scowl at her, and she laughs. “I’m just playing, girl.”

“I got asked out today,” I say nonchalantly. Rhea grabs my hand, pulling me round towards her.

“And you waited all this time to tell me!?”

“You know Calvin?” I grin, and Rhea rolls her eyes.

“You mean the Calvin you have had a thing for since he sat in front of you last year in Math, Calvin. Yeah, I know of Calvin,” she smirks. Okay, so I may have raved about Calvin and his perfect grasp on algebra and his perfectly straight teeth just a little.

“Choir boy finally grew big enough balls to ask you out. So, when’s the big event?”

“I haven’t exactly said yes,” I fidget as she scoffs.

“Why the fuck not?” I avoid her eyes and she clucks her tongue.

“Ahh…because you’re now holding out hope that Darryl will get his head out of his ass and ask you out.”

I push my tongue into my cheek and shrug, not wanting to admit that that was exactly what I hoped. Rhea tilts her head, tapping a chipped fingernail against her chin. “Maybe we can use this to your favor…”

By the time we make it back outside Darryl and his friends have stripped off and are messing around in the pool with Vinnie and Angelo.

The sunlight catches the rivulets of water running down Darryl’s defined stomach muscles as he lifts a laughing Vinnie up onto his shoulders, and I can’t help but lick my lips. Rhea chuckles softly next to me, nudging me over to the loungers.

I stretch out, crossing my ankles and adjusting the straps of my bikini. I clear my throat, trying to get the boys' attention to put Rhea’s plan into action. “So, do you think I should say yes to him, then?”

I keep my eyes fixed on Rhea’s face, my heart rate quickening when I see her mouth quirk up slightly at a splash in the pool. “Yeah, why not? You’ve liked him, like, forever. And he’s super cute, too.”

I try to keep a straight face at Rhea’s attempt at girl talk. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right…I mean, I can’t keep hanging on to my v-card forever, right?”

My willpower to not turn my head as I hear Smit cursing Darryl out for not concentrating should be commended. My neck muscles were practically on fire from the tingles, my whole being screaming at me to look over and see what our conversation was doing to Darryl.

“Especially not when you’ve got hunks throwing themselves at your feet, begging for you to worship their bodies for hours and hours and hou…”

“What are you guys talking about?” Darryl’s deep tenor cuts over Rhea’s words, and I slowly turn my head towards the dripping wet object of my desire.

“Oh, nothing that concerns you, just ruminating on Stevie’s love life,” Rhea smiles sweetly at him over the top of her red heart-shaped sunglasses.

He scowls, a deep rumble of discontent sounding in his chest as he slowly turns away and pads back to the pool. She leans across to me and whispers excitedly. “He totally fucking bought that!

Trust me, by the end of school tomorrow he’ll be down on one fucking knee begging for a date with you.”

***

A week.

A whole fucking week, and nothing.

Well, almost nothing. Darryl had spent a lot more time staring at me during school, and I’d caught him several times watching me from his bedroom window.

Rhea had been convinced that hearing us talk about me going out on a date would be enough to spur him on to maybe ask me out, or lay claim to me in some way, but embarrassingly he hadn’t.

Calvin had asked me out again, wanting to meet up over the weekend. When I’d shot Rhea a questioning look, she’d shrugged and nodded.

So, here I was on a Saturday night getting ready for my first date. Ever. With a guy I used to want to date, but now no longer held the same appeal.

I’d overheard Jake telling my mom that he and Abi had the house to themselves for once, so I assumed Darryl had gone to Smit’s. I really hoped he hadn’t slipped backwards and gone to find Hunter and his loser park friends.

Although, he seemed to be staying sober, for now anyway.

As I step into my shoes, I spot Calvin’s car pulling onto my street, and a little flutter of nerves kicks in. Grabbing my denim jacket off the back of my door, I bound downstairs to ensure I get to the door before my dad can and interrogate Calvin. “Bye guys! Love you!”

“Have fun, sweetie!” my mom calls out to me.

“Stay safe!” My dad lets out a grunt as my mom obviously hits him at his words.

Calvin beams at me from the driver’s seat in his truck.

I hesitate for a second, waiting to see if he was going to get out and greet me, but when he doesn’t I walk round to the passenger’s side, where I frown, wondering how the hell I was going to make it up the huge step in the dress I was wearing.

Opening the door, I grab onto the handle and hoist myself up, clambering to settle myself on the seat, feeling my cheeks flush at the effort. “Hey! You look great.”

“Thanks.” My cheeks get a little more flushed at his words. “You too.”

“Thanks,” he replies, running a hand over his styled hair. “I tried something a little different with my hair. I thought I’d push the boat out a little, you know?”

I nod and smile, not really being able to see what he’d done differently. He carries on talking about his new hair product he’d had to buy because the store was out of his usual one, and that the sneakers he’d planned on wearing had a scuff on them so at the last minute he’d had to change them, but then that involved having to change his whole outfit.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Something tells me this is going to be one long-ass date.