Chapter 12

 

The following Monday morning I was running around getting ready for school, somehow I had managed to sleep through my alarm, and had been woken up 20 minutes later than usual. It had probably been the wonderful dreams I had been having all weekend that had made me want to sleep.  Ever since the dance on Friday evening my mind had been taken over by the good feelings Simon had given me, and ever since then I had been wanting to repeat it all.  My body needed to feel that wonderful again, and as he hadn’t been around all weekend, it seemed that my mind had decided to replay our last time together over and over again.

 

“Kim, you nearly done, Simon is here.” My mother’s voice boomed up the stairs.

 

I ran quickly into my room, checking my hair in the mirror before picking up my school bag and skipping down the stairs.

 

“Morning,” he grinned at me, it was the same grin that he always gave me when he called round to pick me up, but this time it made me feel giddy inside.

 

I stood waiting for a greeting kiss, but was left disappointed as he took my hand and pulled me out of the door.

 

“You OK?” I asked, wondering why he hadn’t responded to me in the way that I thought he should.

 

“Yep fine, you?”

 

He gave my hand a little squeeze which reassured me that everything was OK, and I’d been worried over nothing.

 

“I’m great, been thinking about Friday night lots,” I admitted, before wondering immediately if I should really have said that, you read in so many magazines that the best thing to do was to keep boys guessing, let them chase you around a bit.

 

I needn’t have worried though as he smiled at me, “I have too.”

 

Feeling a bit braver I stood up on tiptoes and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

 

“What’s that for?” he asked in bemusement.

 

“Just felt like doing it,” I replied, “was kind of hoping I’d get a morning kiss.”

 

He stopped walking and turning me towards him, leant down and gave me a tiny peck on the lips, not exactly what I’d been hoping for, but it was a start.

 

Reaching the bus stop we both sat down on one of the benches outside the pub, opening my bag I pulled out my homework.

 

“You not done it again?” he asked, eyeing the big folder with interest.

 

“You know me, like to leave it to the last minute.”

 

He left me alone after that, although whilst I was answering my history questions I could feel his eyes looking at me, and it made me feel warm.

 

I didn’t see him again until lunchtime when we both found ourselves sitting in the year 11 common room, me doing yet more homework and him munching on a packet of Doritos.

 

“Do you have to eat them?” I asked, wrinkling up my nose, “they stink.”

 

“I like them,” he replied, offering me the packet and laughing as I shuffled my chair along to get away from him. “Where are all your cronies?”

 

“I hope you’re not referring to my friends.”

 

“Course not,” he grinned cheekily.

 

“They’re all outside I think, probably sunbathing on the field.”

 

“In Winter?”

 

“The sun is out so why not,” I shrugged, “anyway they wanted to give us some space.”

 

He looked around at the room, and noticing it was practically empty smiled at me and planted a small kiss on my nose.

 

“Well that was very considerate of them, now what are you doing on Wednesday night?”

 

“Nothing”

 

“Well how would you like to go out to dinner?”

 

“You mean Mc Donalds?” I teased, knowing full well that there were only a limited number of places your 16 year old boyfriend could take you.

 

“I was thinking, more that you could come round my house and I’d cook for you.”

 

“You can cook?”

 

“Yeah, have I never cooked for you before?”

 

I delved back into the depths of my memory.  The only time I could ever remember him making anything was back when we were 13 and we had all been round Gillian’s attempting to make cakes, except we’d lost the ingredient book and had ended up throwing any old thing in the baking tin and throwing it in the oven.

 

“Ah yes the cakes,” I said.

 

“The cakes?”

 

“Round Gillian’s.”

 

“Oh, those cakes,” he said suddenly remembering, and giving a little shudder, “they weren’t nice at all.”

 

“And then we went out on the street and tried to sell them,” I laughed, remembering how we had set up a table right outside my shop and trying to sell the cakes at 20p each.

 

“And people bought them!”

 

“Yeah, it was only your Mum though, and we made her eat them.”

 

“She said they were delicious,” Simon remembered.

 

“Yeah, but she probably spat them out in a bush as soon as we weren’t looking.”

 

“Well I can cook much better than that now,” he said enthusiastically, “and we’d have the place to ourselves.”

 

I smiled, “I’ll be there then.”

 

He beamed at me and quickly pressed his lips onto mine.

 

At that moment the door clicked open. 

 

Looking up I saw Ben standing in the doorway staring at us.  Ignoring him I turned back to Simon and buried my face into his neck, not wanting to see bastard Ben anymore than I had to. I was thankful when I heard the door shut.

 

“Has he gone?” I whispered in Simon’s ear.

 

“Yep,” Simon replied, “what is it with you two?”

 

“What you mean?”  I asked, but he didn’t get a chance to answer as the door clicked open again and Ben’s head appeared again.

 

He looked like he was about to say something, but just as he opened his mouth he shut it again and left the room.

 

“Odd,” I said quietly under my breath.

 

“He is odd,” Simon replied through gritted teeth.

 

“Yeah,” I agreed.

 

I looked up towards the door and yet again Ben’s face appeared at the glass, and a few seconds later he opened it again, looking around the room and then glancing at Simon before fixing his eyes on me.

 

“You OK?”

 

He ignored my question and looked around the room again.

 

“You coming in or going out?” I asked, keeping my voice light and letting out a little laugh.

 

Turning back towards me he frowned before retorting, “I wouldn’t come in here if you paid me.”

 

And with that he turned round and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind me.

 

I looked at the wood of the door for a few moments, my eyes filling up with tears.

 

“He really hates me,” I murmured quietly to myself.

 

“And you say you hate him, so why does it matter?” Simon replied, moving my head so I was facing him.

 

“I do hate him, I just wish that things weren’t like this.”

 

“Cos you have a soft spot for him?”

 

I sighed in exasperation – Simon really did seem to have a bee in his bonnet when it came to Ben.

 

“Hardly! I can’t stand him, he’s nasty to me and I’d rather he just kept well out of my way.”

 

“Yet you are always staring at him and when he says things to you it makes you upset,” Simon pressed further.

 

“I don’t stare at him.”

 

“You do, I’ve seen you, and I’ve seen how upset you get.”

 

“It’s only because we used to be such good friends, and sometimes I miss that.”

 

“But you don’t need him Kim.”

 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled, “I know I don’t, I have you, I’m sorry, I wont let him bother me anymore.”

 

Simon seemed to accept this and wrapped his arms right around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

 

Wednesday night looked like it was going to be very promising indeed.