Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 06] (18 page)

‘Um, yeah. Izzie,’ I
blustered. Close up, Josh’s dad looked really nice. Big and jolly. Nothing like
the difficult man who had no time for his son, who Josh had described.

‘Josh never lets me or
his mum meet his friends,’ he continued, ‘so it’s good to see one of you at
last. Come over to the house one day - that is, if you can get Josh to bring
you. He’s never at home these days. We never see him. I hope you’re not like
that with your parents.’

I glanced at Josh. He
was still staring at the pavement, looking like he wanted to die.

Later, we all went
back to Lucy’s for a farewell-to-the-holiday pizza. The girls thought it was
hysterical when I told them what had happened.

‘We were watching from
inside the shop,’ said Lucy. ‘We thought you were going to be arrested.’

‘I know. So did I for
a moment. Even though I haven’t done anything wrong, the minute he started
walking towards me, I felt so guilty.’

‘Until he turned out
to be Josh’s dad,’ laughed Nesta.

‘I know, I could have
kicked myself! Talk about gullible, that’s me. Just called me stupoid.’

‘No,’ said TJ. ‘It
could have happened to any of us.’

‘Well, never again,’ I
said.
‘I’m older, wiser,
smarter.’

‘Until next time,’
said Nesta. ‘Some guy will come along, flutter his eyelashes, and…’

‘Maybe,’ I said, ‘but
I don’t think I’ll be quite as gullible next time.’

Once we’d finished the
pizza, I got ready to go.

‘You’re leaving early,
Iz,’ said Lucy.

‘Ah well. This is the new
sensible Izzie. School tomorrow, so I want to get my things ready, plus I said
I’d look in on Mum’s dinner party. You know it’s her birthday today? Well,
she’s having some friends over. I’ll only pop in for a minute or so, just to
show my face as they’ll probably all be sitting round, having some boring
discussion about mortgages or something. Best show willing.’

‘Hmm, sounds like a
real fun time. Not,’ said Nesta.

When I opened the
front door at home, the strangest sight met my eyes. The kitchen was a total
mess, and when I went and stuck my head round the living room door,
I saw that all Mum’s friends were up hippie dancing. They looked more than a
bit merry, especially Angus who waved at me happily from the corner of the
room. I stood in the doorway for a moment and watched with amazement. Mum saw
me looking and came over. ‘Do you want to join us, Izzie? Have half a glass of
wine?’

‘No thanks,’ I said,
then smiled. ‘I’ve just got back from my AA meeting. I’ve gone teetotal.’

One of her friends
looked at me oddly. ‘Only joking,’ I said, then headed up the stairs. I knew
exactly what I was going to do. Bath, bed and a hot chocolate.

While the adults
downstairs danced away, reliving their youth, I was happy to have an early
night, tucked up like an old grandmother. Does anyone ever act their age? I
wondered as the sounds of the Rolling Stones floated up through the ceiling. I
thought about banging on the ceiling and asking them to turn the music down,
then I thought no, Mum’s only middle-aged once. I’ll let her have her fun.

About the Author

Cathy Hopkins
lives in North London with her
handsome husband and three deranged cats. Or is it the other way around - her handsome
cats and deranged husband? She has had over twenty books published, including
the six titles in the Mates, Dates series, and the three titles in the Truth,
Dare, Kiss or Promise series.

She is currently
working on the seventh book in the

Mates, Dates series.
Apart from that, she is looking for the answers to why we’re here, where we’ve
come from and what it’s all about. She is also looking for the perfect
hairdresser.

Also available from
Piccadilly Press by Cathy Hopkins:

The Mates, Dates
series

Mates, Dates and
Inflatable Eras

Mates, Dates and
Cosmic Kisses

Mates, Dates and
Portobello Princesses

Mates, Dates and
Sleepover Secrets

Mates, Dates and
Sole Survivors

The Truth, Dare, Kiss
or Promise series
White Lies and Barefaced Truths

Pop Princess Teen
Queens and Has-beens