‘Hey, you.’
Someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn to find Jason standing there.
‘Changed days,’ he says. ‘You’re the girl who used to say the trouble with jogging is that by the time you realise you’re not in shape for it …’
‘… it’s too far to walk back.’ I laugh. ‘Yeah, yeah. I know. But what about you? You weren’t at Lucy’s boot camp training session, so I just assumed you’d probably give today a body swerve as well.’
He shrugs. ‘I started training on my own. It’s a good thing that she’s doing, helping send that little boy to America. I want to take part. I’m not a natural runner, though. As you know.’
‘Me, neither. But I’ve actually started to enjoy it. I feel better when I’m exercising.’
He feels my forehead, jokingly.
‘I know. Bit of a shocker, right? I hope you haven’t forgotten we’re going out for dinner,’ I add, smiling to hide my slight awkwardness.
He looks at me with an expression I can’t quite decipher.
‘I need to tell you something,’ he says, taking my hand and drawing me away from the crowd. Bemused, I go where he leads me, beneath the branches of a big oak tree nearby. And before I know what’s happening, I’m in his arms and he’s kissing me.
Taken by surprise, my brain instantly starts popping with questions. (Mainly, how can he possibly find me attractive wearing this lot?)
But very quickly, the lovely familiarity of kissing Jason takes over and after a moment, I start kissing him back. All the memories of when we were together start rushing back. Theo and Olivia are quite forgotten. Kissing Jason seems like the most natural thing in the world …
‘The run is beginning shortly.’ A sharp voice at my back calls an abrupt halt to our amorous interlude. ‘If you can bear to come up for air, of course.’
I break away and turn to find Lucy standing there, eyes flashing with fury. Shock paralyses me, and for a horrible moment, I’m back at school in the toilets where Lucy has just dragged me – to warn me that if I dare go out with Jason, she will make sure I regret it.
I shake the memory, reminding myself we’re all grown up now. It’s a free country. I can kiss whomever I like and Lucy can’t hurt me any more.
Calmly, I return her look. I’m expecting Jason to react by letting go of me, but to my surprise, his grip on my waist only tightens.
Lucy stalks off and Jason blows out a long breath. ‘Good riddance.’
He pulls me against him again, murmuring urgently, ‘Oh God, Twi, you do realise I’m falling for you all over again? I keep thinking how great it was between us. Do you remember? You must.’
I nod. ‘I do. But—’
‘It can be like that again. It can, Twi. I know it can.’ He smiles and cradles my face. And I look into his kind brown eyes that are so lovely and familiar to me, and I can’t help wondering … It would be so easy to fall back into Jason’s arms. Ours was such an easy relationship, full of warmth and fun. We were so close, we used to finish each other’s sentences all the time.
Maybe we’re right for each other, after all.
Perhaps we’ve wasted too much time already …
A memory of my hot encounter with Theo in the treehouse flashes into my mind – the way his body and lips felt pressed against mine – but I force it away, leaning forward and kissing Jason firmly on the lips. ‘Let’s have dinner,’ I murmur, ‘and then we’ll see.’
‘There’s Theo,’ Jason says stiffly, looking over my shoulder.
I shoot Jason a sharp glance. ‘There’s nothing going on between me and Theo, you know. And there never will be.’ I say it determinedly, to crush the pang of sadness.
‘Really?’
‘Really.’ I turn slightly so I can see where he’s looking. Paloma has joined Theo and Olivia in conversation. Theo is talking and the two girls are looking up at him, listening intently with serious expressions. Then, as I watch, I see Paloma’s expression change to one of pure horror. At least, that’s what it looks like to me, although obviously I have no idea what they’re talking about.
She looks away after a moment, as if she’s thinking about something, while Theo and Olivia continue to chat in their flirty way. I can’t see Theo’s face because he’s facing away from me.
Next moment, Paloma looks around and spots me. She says something to the other two, then walks over and I smile expectantly, thinking she might tell me what’s on her mind.
But all she says is, ‘Theo’s lovely, isn’t he?’ She says it in a weird, distracted sort of way, almost as if she’s talking to herself.
I shrug. ‘He’s okay. A bit of a lone wolf, apparently. No point trying to get close to people like him.’
She gives me a slightly bemused look, and I feel my face redden. I don’t know why on earth I said that. I suppose it still needles that while on his own admission, he considers me ‘gorgeous’, he has no intention of touching me with a bargepole!
Paloma glances from me to Jason and her expression changes. ‘Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?’
‘No, of course not.’ I laugh a little too heartily. ‘Jason and I were just talking about – er, old times. Weren’t we?’ I swing round and beam at Jason.
He smiles, his eyes fixed on me. ‘Old times. And new.’
‘Are we running together?’ asks Paloma.
I nod. ‘Feel free to speed off at your own pace if I hold you up, though. Coming, Jason?’
‘No, I’m going to linger at the back.’ He grins. ‘Then if I decide to stop off at the pub, no one will notice.’
Paloma and I set off, running with the pack, Lucy and Olivia right up at the front, leading the way. Theo isn’t far behind them. I spot someone else I recognise running just behind him, but I can’t put a name to
