She could consider part one of her plan well and trulycomplete. Now she could move on to make her next house call, one which she wasexpecting to be far more pleasant.
Chapter Ten
July 1994
Ten minutes later, Kay stood in front of Kent’s house andpressed the bell. She had never been to his house before, but tracking him downhadn’t been too difficult. Before she had left home that morning she had lookedhis address up in the telephone directory. Kent was not a very common name andthere were only about a dozen in the book. She knew his father’s name was Davidand there was only one with the initial ‘D’ in the book so it had to be him.
When he opened the door she could see that he wasn’t fullydressed, just as Glen hadn’t been. He didn’t open the door fully, keeping hislower half behind the door and peering around it. That was fair enough, it wasstill pretty early in the day by teenage standards. She remembered that sherarely got up before lunchtime at that age if she didn’t have to.
Kay could see enough of his top half to like what she saw.He was clad in a Blur T-shirt which showed not only his good taste in music,but also his athletic frame.
Casting her eye appreciatively over him, she marvelled athow young and slim he was compared to the middle-aged boozer she had beenspeaking to in the pub the night before. She had forgotten just howgood-looking he had been when he was young.
“Kay!” he exclaimed, just as surprised to see her as Glenhad been. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Richard,” she said. “Can I come in for a coffee and aquick chat?”
“Of course,” he said, before adding, “The only thing is, I’min my underpants. Can you hang on here a minute while I finish gettingdressed.”
“That doesn’t bother me,” she said suggestively. “You don’thave to leave me standing on the doorstep. I’m a big girl now.” She enjoyed theirony of this statement, but it was of course lost on the young Kent.
He blushed, his shy and hormonal teenage self not yetexperienced enough to deal with such blatant flirtation.
“Come on in, then,” he said, letting go of the door. “I’llbe back in a minute.”
He scampered up the stairs in his kecks before she wasbarely over the threshold. Kay couldn’t resist stealing a peek as he went, andnoted he was wearing briefs. That was interesting. Both Glen and Alan hadpreferred boxers. Could you tell what a man was like from his choice ofunderwear? Kay was always having these random thoughts.
She heard the unmistakable hiss of a deodorant upstairs andthe running of a tap before he rushed back downstairs, only a couple of minutesafter he had left. There was a blob of toothpaste on his T-shirt. Bless him –he was making an effort.
“How about this coffee, then?” she asked, unable to resistadding, “Preferably without any laxatives.”
This comment was also meaningless to this version of Kent,who just looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face. She would haveto stop dropping these little references into the conversation, as the lastthing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.
“Joke,” she explained. “Don’t worry about it.” She smiled athim to reassure him.
“Come through to the kitchen,” he said. “You look lovely inthat dress, by the way.”
It was a genuine compliment, which she appreciated, and hehad made it without ogling her breasts. As he busied himself preparing thecoffee she made some small talk with him, asking him how his exams had gone andif he had any plans for university. Once they were both seated at the kitchentable, she decided it was time to get to the point.
“I expect you’re wondering why I’m here,” she said.
“It had crossed my mind,” he replied. “Would you like abiscuit?” He offered her a round tartan tin and she took out a milk chocolatedigestive. He seemed a little more relaxed than when she had first arrived.
“Well, it’s quite simple really,” she said, munching on herbiscuit. “It’s about the ball tonight.”
“You’re going with Glen, aren’t you?” he said, not managingto conceal his disappointment.
“As it happens, no,” replied Kay, and promptly launched intothe tale of Glen’s subterfuge.
“What a snake!” exclaimed Kent. “It doesn’t surprise me,though. He’s always screwing people over but I never thought he would do it tome. Fancy going around telling people that I’m gay! I’m supposed to be his bestmate.”
He looked pretty annoyed. Never mind, she had something muchbetter to offer than his so-called best mate’s fake friendship.
“Well, now you know what he is like, I suggest you don’t getmad, but get even. That’s where I come in.”
He looked up hopefully, wondering what was coming next.
“What did you have in mind?” he asked.
“About the ball – did you manage to sort yourself out with adate?” asked Kay.
“Sadly not,” he replied despondently. “Quite honestly, youwere by far and away my first choice, and when that didn’t work out, I didn’thave the heart to ask anyone else.”
“Well, it’s all worked out nicely now,” she said. “I’veditched him. So, Cinderella, it’s your lucky night. That’s if you still want totake me, of course.”
His face lit up at her offer. “I’d love to,” he said. “Butshould I do the dirty on a mate like that? It’s not really right, is it?”
“You mean your mate who treats women like shit and stabbedyou in the back the first opportunity he got?” asked Kay.
“Well, when you put it like that,” said Kent, “I’ll bedelighted to take you to the ball.”
“Consider it a date,” she replied. “And now that’s allsorted, what are you up to today?”
She had only one day with him, so wanted to make all of itcount.
“Well, nothing planned, really,” he replied.
“You do now,” she said. “I don’t just want a date for theball. I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Kent was lost for words, scarcely able to believe his luck.Without further ado, she got up from her chair, walked over towards him,
