The Flirting Games (The Flirting Series - Young Adult) by Stella Wilkinson Read Free Book Online Page B

it?”
Jack continued and Ellie nodded.
    “And that would be Brenner beside
him? You know the girls in my year used to call them ‘Hell’s Angels’.
Apparently because they have both the names and the faces of Angels, but the
souls of Devils.” He smiled at the joke. “He must be 16 or 17 now?”
    “Yes, I suppose so.” Ellie got a
stubborn look on her face. “I don’t know what Alex told you, but if you think
you have any right…” Her voice trailed off as Jack held his hands up in mock
surrender.
    “Don’t look so worried, Ellie, it
was just a social call. Anyway you look like you have your hands full of Liam
Anderson. Let’s have a birthday drink and then I should be on my way; I’ve got
a long drive up to Manchester this afternoon.”
    Ellie looked downcast that he was
leaving so soon.
    “Cheer up brat. I’ll be back here
for Christmas, don’t forget. It’s only a short term.”
    Poor little Ellie, he thought.
Actually not so little Ellie; she was 15 now. He wondered if he ought to say
something sensible about boys. Not that she would listen, he thought; she’d
already had a few boyfriends. He hadn’t approved, but at least it had all
seemed fairly innocent. Until now. Openly kissing in the pub! He wondered
whether to threaten Anderson about not taking it any further than that.
    He looked at her, trying to assess
how boys her age saw her. She had inherited the same Parkhurst good looks that
he had. Her eyes were the same golden brown, framed by thick dark lashes, but
she wore her chestnut hair long, with a straight fringe over her eyebrows. Her
bow mouth was also just like his, but much more feminine.
    Alex could be quite good-looking
too, he mused, but his looks were less obvious as he wore glasses and kept his
hair far too neat.
    “Try to stay out of trouble, won’t
you?” he said, sounding like their dad.
    Ellie attempted a smile. “There
isn’t nearly as much trouble to find without you here to cause it,” she
countered.
    “Pleased to hear it.” He chucked her
under the chin.
    Ellie was really glad to see Jack
and for some reason it mattered that he hadn’t tried to forbid her to date
Nate. Not that there was any chance she was going to, but his reaction had
crossed her mind late at night when she had briefly considered it and knowing
he didn’t seem to mind somehow made her feel lighter and happier.
    After Jack left, Ellie and Liam went
back up to the school. She wanted plenty of time to get dressed up for the
school Halloween dinner; after all, it was also her birthday, so she had a good
excuse for making a special effort. It wasn’t remotely because she was hoping
to impress anyone with her sexy black dress; at least, that’s what she kept
telling herself.
    ***
    Nate sat at the West Tower table and
watched Ellie walk in for dinner. She was wearing a long black dress. He wasn’t
sure he had ever seen her in a dress before, though he supposed he must have as
the girls often wore dresses for the Halloween dinner every year. It gave her
some curves that her school uniform didn’t. She was also wearing lipstick and
her chestnut hair seemed to glow in the candlelight that the school had laid on
for the occasion.
    He found he was cracking his
knuckles under the table like a cave man.
    That scene in the pub today had
thrown him. She hadn’t even seen him; she had been too busy sucking face with
that idiot Anderson. She wasn’t pining for his attention; she hadn’t even
noticed him. Then her brother had come in and he had hoped Jack Parkhurst was
going to be angry at her public display of affection. In fact, he’d expected
Jack to put Anderson through the wall, but no luck there. Still, he was glad it
wasn’t him that had been caught kissing her though; Jack might have left
Compass Court, but you still wouldn’t want to get found compromising his
sister.
    On the plus side, Alex was being
friendly again and had persuaded Nate to come and sit at their table for
dinner. He wasn’t sure