Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 05] Read Online Free PDF

over at the boy. ‘Do me a favour. He’s picking his nose.’
    ‘OK, I got one,’ said
TJ. ‘Behind spiky boy, dark.’
    ‘Where?… Oh yeah,’ I
said, catching sight of him. ‘Yeah, he’s a possibility.’
    ‘He’s checking you
out, Lucy,’ said Izzie.
    I glanced over.
‘Ohmigod, he’s looking at me. I think he knows we’re talking about him.
Ohmigod
,
he’s coming over.’
    ‘Excellent,’ said
Nesta. ‘Now play it cool, look away, don’t let him know you’ve noticed him.’
    Of course I went
bright red. A dead giveaway, if ever there was one.
    The boy came straight
up to me. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Can I talk to you a minute?’
    I glanced at the
girls, who were all grinning like idiots and giving me the thumbs-up behind his
back. I couldn’t believe it. Success so fast. And he was cute. Very cute, like
Enrique Iglesias.
    He led me behind the
pillar and looked deeply into my eyes.
    ‘That girl you’re
with…’ he began.
    He didn’t have to
finish. I knew what he was going to say immediately. It’s not the first time
this has happened. Boys always fancy Nesta. And no wonder, she is stunning and
a half.
    ‘The dark one?’ I
asked.
    ‘Yeah. Has she got a
boyfriend?’
    ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘In
fact, all those girls I’m with have got boyfriends.’
    He looked
disappointed. Not as disappointed as I was, though. He didn’t even bother to
ask if I was attached.
    ‘Never mind,’ he said.
‘Thanks.’ Then he shuffled off.
    I couldn’t help
feeling a tiny bit jealous. I do love Nesta - she’s a great mate - but it’s
hard sometimes, being the last one that anyone notices. I went back to join the
girls, who looked at me expectantly.
    ‘Wanted to know if you
were taken or not, Nesta,’ I said.
    Nesta looked over at
the boy. ‘Really?’
    Izzie smacked her arm.
‘We’re here for Lucy, not you. Besides, you have Simon.’
    ‘I know,’ she said.
‘But no harm seeing what I’m missing.’
    ‘Let’s try somewhere
else,’ I said. ‘Any ideas, anyone?’
    ‘How about Hampstead?’
said Izzie. ‘There’s always loads of boys there.’
    ‘Lead the way,’ said
Nesta, heading off towards the bus stop.
    ‘But please, let’s
just hang out, look in the shops and forget about the Mission,’ I said. ‘I
don’t think it’s going to work. It doesn’t feel right. I mean, so there might
be a boy who looks OK, but how am I going to approach him? Get a card with “Hi,
I’m Lucy and I’m available” on it? Besides, I’m always reading that the right
boy always comes along when you’ve given up.’
    ‘No,’ said Nesta. ‘You
have to make things happen.’
    Izzie shrugged. ‘No,
Lucy may be right, Nesta. You can’t force destiny.’
    ‘Choice not chance
determines destiny,’ said Nesta. ‘You can’t leave everything to fate or the
stars.’
    Oh, here we go again
with the conflicting advice, I thought. It’s amazing Nesta and Izzie get on at
all. They both think so differently about things. If Nesta said ‘hold on’,
Izzie would say ‘let go’. They never agree on anything. Chalk and cheese.
Still, it seems to work on some strange level. Opposites attract and all that.
    ‘What do you think,
TJ?’ I asked.
    ‘No harm in looking,’
she said. ‘It’s like window shopping. Good to see what’s on offer, but it
doesn’t mean that you have to buy.’
    I liked that
perspective. It took the pressure off.
    We caught the bus down
to Hampstead where everyone was sitting, sipping cappuccinos and enjoying the
sunshine outside the cafes that line the streets. After trawling the pavement
for a while, looking for an empty table, we finally ended up outside the Coffee
Cup. All the tables were full except for one that was occupied by a boy sitting
on his own and reading. He looked nice and there were three empty chairs next
to him.
    ‘Anyone sitting here?’
asked Nesta, pointing at the chairs.
    The boy smiled and
said, ‘Nope, only me. And Jesus.’ He then pointed at the book he was