home. He had done it once, with disastrous results. Again, lessons learnt.
Ed cleared his throat and took the cigarette out of his mouth. ‘Anyway, Middleford, pay attention. I’ve seen a girl I like. She’s gorgeous and I want to talk to her. I need her name and some background details, please.’
Boyd let out a sigh of resignation but narrowed his eyes nonetheless. ‘Which one is it? Not Gaby, surely? She’s a friend of my sister’s. Her nickname is “Vacuum”, which probably makes you even more excited, but I wouldn’t touch her with yours, quite frankly …’
‘Not Gaby. As if, Boyd.’ Ed knew exactly how Gaby had earned her nickname. ‘No, that one over by the window. The one with eyes I could drown in and a body like the Venus de Milo.’
Boyd frowned. ‘God, you are a massive tit. I know you want to be a writer, but honestly. Do you mean that one with the terrible hair?’
Ed rolled his eyes. The long, wild tangle of mousy curls conjured up thoughts of bare backs and exquisite shoulders, surely? Boyd, a sturdy, unimaginative fellow at the best of times, truly lacked vision.
‘I think she’s called Molly,’ Boyd offered finally. ‘Molly … Wilkes. Yes. Her mother is an old school friend of my mother’s. Father’s an Oxford Don. Older brother. Tom, perhaps. Successful architect. Ummm …’
‘That’ll do. Good work, Boyd. You are a veritable goldmine.’
Ed headed straight for the window as the girl called Molly slipped outside. He followed her, knowing he had the perfect excuse in his hand should he need it; a sneaky fag was useful in so many ways. As a result, he was taken aback when Molly turned and eyed him suspiciously.
‘Are you following me?’
Ed lit his cigarette suavely but spoilt it by almost burning his fingers when he snapped his Zippo shut. ‘Shit. Er, might be. Molly, isn’t it?’
‘You know my name.’ She raised her eyebrows in a ladylike fashion. He was handsome. And he knew it. She wasn’t sure if she liked that. Obviously Molly understood that everyone had a mirror – it was more that she preferred confidence that came from achievement, not looks. ‘You’re following me and you know my name. There are laws against that, you know.’
‘I’m having an innocent cigarette and a friend told me your name just now. Hardly grounds for arrest, surely? I’m Ed, by the way.’
‘Hi. I’d tell you my name but clearly you already know me.’
Close up, Ed found himself drawn to Molly’s eyes. They were cat-like, shrewd. Brown. No, dark blue – an unusual shade that no doubt earned her compliments aplenty. From lesser mortals. Ed would need to come up with something more original. This was a smart, eloquent girl who looked as though she might, with impeccable manners, coolly dismiss boys who bored her.
Ed sucked on his cigarette, feeling something spark inside him. He was tired of easy girls; Molly was already challenging him.
Out of the blue, Molly smiled. Was she mocking him? Ed felt unnerved, wrong-footed. He really needed to get a grip.
‘I’m not planning to get you arrested, no.’ God, but he was sexy. Molly checked out his mouth. Kissable, definitely. Hmm. How annoying. She hadn’t felt this attracted to someone at first glance before. Was this what everyone called ‘chemistry’?
Molly pulled herself together and gestured to his singed fingers. ‘But I do think you need to learn how to use a lighter properly. Otherwise everyone will think you’re a right nobber.’
Ed let out a shout of laughter. He’d never met anyone else who used his favourite insult before. He stared at Molly. She was on the short side but perfectly proportioned. She had that irresistible blend of slender, with tantalising curves in all the right places. Ed was willing to bet Molly worried about the size of her bum constantly. Molly might be a challenge, but he was confident he knew how her mind worked. To a degree. Because Ed could modestly acknowledge that he knew a fair amount about girls. He caught sight of her bum as she began to walk away from him and almost dropped his cigarette. Delectable. Rounded. Ripe. Bloody hell. Better than he’d imagined. Hang on; where was she going?
‘I’m off to do some stargazing,’ Molly said, as though she had heard his thoughts. She sincerely hoped he wasn’t looking at her bum. She always worried about it, stressed that it was a little on the large side. ‘I think if you carry on walking in that direction, you get to the beach, right?’ She began strolling but threw a glance over her shoulder. ‘Aren’t you coming, shadow?’
Ed watched her. It wasn’t his style to chase after a girl like some sort of lap dog, but Molly was intriguing. He had a feeling about her. Whatever that meant. Ed threw his cigarette down and hurried after her, slowing his steps when he realised what a dick he must look.
Act casual, dude, he told himself sternly. She’s just a girl.
Molly kicked her shoes off at the edge of the beach and carried on walking. She was glad Ed had followed her. She would have looked like a right idiot strolling off on her own. She would have followed it through for an indeterminate period of time, of course, so as not to look even more absurd – and being on a beach wasn’t exactly a hardship – but she would have felt downright silly. She gestured to an area of sand edged by long grass. ‘This looks good. What do you reckon?’
‘Well, wherever we sit will mean sand up our—’ Ed stopped. He wasn’t sure Molly would be impressed with talk of ‘cracks’. That was the sort of conversation he and Boyd might have. Ed squinted up at the sky, his mind rapidly flicking through some pages from … what, Geography? He flipped through his memory banks until he fell upon ‘Constellations’. Ah, yes. A number of them popped into his head, complete with names, historical references and relative chance of visibility. The Late Latin meaning of ‘constellation’ was ‘set with stars’; Ed had always found that kind of romantic. He’d been blessed with a photographic memory of sorts. A valuable tool when it came to passing exams (Ed hoped to sail through his GCSEs). And when it came to impressing girls, a memory like his was invaluable.
‘It’s perfect,’ Ed said, meeting Molly’s eyes. ‘The perfect spot for this. You. Me. Us.’
‘Oh, you’re good. Really good.’ She laughed but gave him a look he couldn’t fathom. Was she impressed? Did she find him amusing? Did she like him?
Molly flopped down on the sand and threw her arms above her head. ‘Seriously. I’ll probably fall in love with you if you carry on like that. Won’t be able to help myself.’ She was a bit concerned at the way her heart was racing. He had only looked at her and made a corny comment!
Don’t be silly, Molly, she told herself sternly. He’s just a boy.
Ed was transfixed. The way she had thrown herself down like that suggested confidence but there was a softness to her that took the edge off both her mannerisms and her comments. There was no malice present in her tone, just delight and enjoyment at the banter. He found himself staring at her bare legs, at the way they twisted together. It hit him in the groin somewhat, the sensual way her limbs moved and flowed.
God. Ed frowned. Boyd was right. He was a great big tit.
Molly lay back and closed her eyes, giving him the chance to continue his study of her. He noted that she wore several silver rings on her fingers – an assortment of slim, decorated bands. Her ears were studded with little sparkly earrings
