Six Steps to a Girl Read Free

it into the socket in the corner of my room, then covered it over with a towel. When Mum asked if I’d listened to any of Dad’s records yet, I just said I wasn’t ready and she let me alone.
    In the end, being back at school wasn’t much better than being at home. My friends were all dead weird with me. It was like they didn’t know what to say to me about Dad, so they’d decided it was easier not to say anything. It’s hard to explain. They talked and joked like always and we played football just as before, but there was this way they had of looking at me, like I came from another planet and might mutate into a bloodsucking alien at any minute.
    I wasn’t Luke anymore. I was the bloke with the Dead Dad.
    And then there was Eve. Or, rather, there wasn’t. That first day I looked out for her all the way to school, then again when I was leaving. No sign. I even walked past Chloe’s classroom once – but it was empty.
    That was Friday. The weekend passed slowly. By Monday I’d almost convinced myself I’d imagined her. Certainly I must have imagined how beautiful her face was. And I hadn’t even seen the rest of her.
    Chloe and I hardly ever walked to school together, but we sometimes met up to come home. That Monday afternoon I was hanging about by the wall near the entrance gates, half waiting for her. It was in the back of my mind that when Chloe came out with the rest of her class, Eve might be there too. But I wasn’t really thinking about it.
    I looked up. There was Chloe, surrounded by her friends as usual. They were giggling. Looking at their mobiles. A few of them wandered off. The rest shuffled round.
    And I saw her.
    She was smiling, listening to someone. My mouth fell open. She was even hotter than I’d remembered. I stared, trying to take all of her in at once. Long, slim legs. Curves everywhere. Sleek blonde hair falling dead straight onto her shoulders. And that face. Jesus. Even the way she stood was sexy. Her head to one side. Her hand, pushing back her jacket, resting on her hip.
    The other girls drifted away. It was just her and Chloe now. Then they started walking across the tarmac. Except Eve didn’t walk. The way she moved was more like gliding. Like a cat – smooth and fluid and unbelievably sure of herself.
    Oh crap. They were coming towards me. They were wrapped up in their conversation, not looking at me, but they were definitely heading in my direction. Getting closer and closer. In a minute she was going to be standing right next to me. My heart pummelled against my ribs.
    Seconds pulsed by. I stared down at the ground. And then she was here. Close enough to touch.
    “Luke?” Chloe sounded impatient.
    I looked up at my sister, catching Eve out of the corner of my eye. My throat was dry. Lust rocketed through me. There was nothing about her that wasn’t perfect. The way her upper lip dipped into a V in the middle. The way her jumper clung to her . . .
    “What the hell is wrong with you?” Chloe said.
    I shook my head. “Nothing,” I blurted out.
    Stop. You’re behaving like a total nutter. Calm down.
    I looked down at the tarmac again. There was this tightness in my chest. It crossed my mind that I might be having a heart attack. I stood there, concentrating on breathing. Eve dragged one of her feet seductively across the tarmac. She was wearing black shoes with thin, pointy heels.
    Chloe had clearly decided to ignore my peculiar behaviour. “So where’re you meeting Ben?” she said to Eve.
    “The Bell.”
    Oh God. Even her voice was sexy – all low and raspy.
    “Ben’s done me this new, totally brilliant fake I.D.,” Eve said. “We’re meeting for cocktails at happy hour.”
    Chloe giggled. “Oooh. Cocktails,” she said.
    “Yeah.” I could hear the grin in Eve’s voice. “Guess what his favourite is?” She leaned over and whispered something in Chloe’s ear.
    Chloe squealed. “No way. I can’t believe they’re even allowed to print that on a