looking around.
‘Somewhere,’ he replies.
‘I should say hi. Shouldn’t I?’
He shrugs, not seeming to care either way. ‘Mom?’ he calls out.
Her voice comes back from a room off the living room. I follow him nervously.
‘Jessie wanted to say hello,’ he says, as I look past him to see his mum, Lucille, sitting at a large desk, surrounded by paperwork.
‘Well, hello there!’ she gushes warmly, getting to her feet. She’s slim and attractive with a wide smile and long dark hair that comes all the way to her waist. ‘How are
you, Jessie? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.’
I’ve barely spoken to her at all, truth be told. I get the feeling she’s very laid-back about what Jack and Agnes get up to. I’m not even sure she knows I’m going out
with her son.
‘Does your mum know about you and me?’ I whisper a few minutes later, after we’ve exhausted the small talk with Lucille and I feel free to wander upstairs.
‘Yeah. Agnes told her.’ He comes to a stop outside my friend’s room. ‘Come and say bye to me before you go.’
I nod and knock on the door.
‘Come in,’ Agnes calls.
I walk in to find her lying on her double bed, atop her hot-pink bedspread. Fairy lights are twirled round the white iron bedhead behind her, but they’re turned off and the only light in
the room is coming from two burning, vanilla-scented candles.
She likes a lot of the same actors and bands that I do and I pause to admire the posters of Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Liam Hemsworth and Joseph Strike looking all sexy and ripped. I express
my appreciation as I shrug off my jacket.
‘Didn’t Meg go out with Joseph Strike once?’ she asks, furrowing her brow as she sits up.
I shoot her a startled look. ‘Are you serious?’
‘I’m sure I heard that somewhere,’ Agnes says. ‘Maybe she can get us tickets to his next premiere.’
‘Oh my God, can you imagine?’ I say with wide-eyed excitement as I perch on the end of her bed. ‘I bet she keeps it quiet because Johnny gets so jealous.’
Agnes screws up her nose. ‘He doesn’t, does he?’
‘Yeah.’ I smirk. ‘He’s so into her.’
Shame he didn’t love my mother like that… I push the thought away. Some things aren’t meant to be and, if Johnny hadn’t met Meg, Barney and Phoenix wouldn’t
exist.
‘Did
you
know Sienna was Dana’s Reed’s little sister?’ I ask Agnes with a frown, now that we’re onto the subject of my dad’s love life.
Her eyes widen. ‘God. Yes, I did, but I had
completely
forgotten. She never talks about her.’
‘I hung out with her a bit on Saturday night and she didn’t mention it.’ I don’t reveal that I’ve sort of been avoiding her this week. I’ve said hi, of
course, but I do feel strange about the whole thing. ‘I just thought that maybe that would have been something she’d think to bring up,’ I add.
‘Maybe she’s embarrassed,’ Agnes says with a shrug.
‘Anyway, let’s change the subject.’
Agnes’s cheeks flame as it becomes clear what that subject is.
‘So you guys had sex?’ I whisper.
She nods, squirming.
‘When?’
‘Last night,’ she replies.
‘Oh my God.’ I have so many questions. What was it like? Did it hurt? Where were they when it happened? How does she feel now? I barely even know how to start.
‘I thought you’d decided not to,’ is what I come out with.
She chews a snag off her thumbnail. ‘We sort of had,’ she says in a small voice. ‘What you said in San Fran, about me giving my virginity away to someone who’s not going
to be around afterwards… That got to me. And it bothered him, too. But things have been getting so heated. I’ve seen him practically every day for the last few weeks and we almost went
the whole way in his car that day we drove to Malibu. He stopped it, and again on Saturday night. Then, last night, Mum and Tim were out and Jack was, too, and we had the whole house to
ourselves.’
Where was Jack?
I try
‘Somewhere,’ he replies.
‘I should say hi. Shouldn’t I?’
He shrugs, not seeming to care either way. ‘Mom?’ he calls out.
Her voice comes back from a room off the living room. I follow him nervously.
‘Jessie wanted to say hello,’ he says, as I look past him to see his mum, Lucille, sitting at a large desk, surrounded by paperwork.
‘Well, hello there!’ she gushes warmly, getting to her feet. She’s slim and attractive with a wide smile and long dark hair that comes all the way to her waist. ‘How are
you, Jessie? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.’
I’ve barely spoken to her at all, truth be told. I get the feeling she’s very laid-back about what Jack and Agnes get up to. I’m not even sure she knows I’m going out
with her son.
‘Does your mum know about you and me?’ I whisper a few minutes later, after we’ve exhausted the small talk with Lucille and I feel free to wander upstairs.
‘Yeah. Agnes told her.’ He comes to a stop outside my friend’s room. ‘Come and say bye to me before you go.’
I nod and knock on the door.
‘Come in,’ Agnes calls.
I walk in to find her lying on her double bed, atop her hot-pink bedspread. Fairy lights are twirled round the white iron bedhead behind her, but they’re turned off and the only light in
the room is coming from two burning, vanilla-scented candles.
She likes a lot of the same actors and bands that I do and I pause to admire the posters of Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Liam Hemsworth and Joseph Strike looking all sexy and ripped. I express
my appreciation as I shrug off my jacket.
‘Didn’t Meg go out with Joseph Strike once?’ she asks, furrowing her brow as she sits up.
I shoot her a startled look. ‘Are you serious?’
‘I’m sure I heard that somewhere,’ Agnes says. ‘Maybe she can get us tickets to his next premiere.’
‘Oh my God, can you imagine?’ I say with wide-eyed excitement as I perch on the end of her bed. ‘I bet she keeps it quiet because Johnny gets so jealous.’
Agnes screws up her nose. ‘He doesn’t, does he?’
‘Yeah.’ I smirk. ‘He’s so into her.’
Shame he didn’t love my mother like that… I push the thought away. Some things aren’t meant to be and, if Johnny hadn’t met Meg, Barney and Phoenix wouldn’t
exist.
‘Did
you
know Sienna was Dana’s Reed’s little sister?’ I ask Agnes with a frown, now that we’re onto the subject of my dad’s love life.
Her eyes widen. ‘God. Yes, I did, but I had
completely
forgotten. She never talks about her.’
‘I hung out with her a bit on Saturday night and she didn’t mention it.’ I don’t reveal that I’ve sort of been avoiding her this week. I’ve said hi, of
course, but I do feel strange about the whole thing. ‘I just thought that maybe that would have been something she’d think to bring up,’ I add.
‘Maybe she’s embarrassed,’ Agnes says with a shrug.
‘Anyway, let’s change the subject.’
Agnes’s cheeks flame as it becomes clear what that subject is.
‘So you guys had sex?’ I whisper.
She nods, squirming.
‘When?’
‘Last night,’ she replies.
‘Oh my God.’ I have so many questions. What was it like? Did it hurt? Where were they when it happened? How does she feel now? I barely even know how to start.
‘I thought you’d decided not to,’ is what I come out with.
She chews a snag off her thumbnail. ‘We sort of had,’ she says in a small voice. ‘What you said in San Fran, about me giving my virginity away to someone who’s not going
to be around afterwards… That got to me. And it bothered him, too. But things have been getting so heated. I’ve seen him practically every day for the last few weeks and we almost went
the whole way in his car that day we drove to Malibu. He stopped it, and again on Saturday night. Then, last night, Mum and Tim were out and Jack was, too, and we had the whole house to
ourselves.’
Where was Jack?
I try
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