Angel Kiss Read Online Free Page B

Hannah wondering why I hadn’t messaged her back. She wanted to know was I mad at her because she kissed Ross? Hannah and Ross. Weird. I wasn’t madthough. I used to fancy him, but then I’d seen him throw up after drinking too much cider, and the attraction had dwindled. I presumed they wouldn’t last very long anyway. Hannah disposed of boys just as often as she blew her allowance on Topshop accessories, i.e. almost every fortnight. The next message was a dirty joke forwarded by Ross to me and twenty other people. And the next was a picture of a tiny kitten wearing a top hat, forwarded by Sophie. The rest were spam. I quickly replied to Hannah, explaining why I hadn’t been in contact.
    ‘Thanks, Colin,’ I said when I’d logged out. ‘I really miss having Internet; you feel so cut off without it. I can get it on my phone but I never have enough credit and the coverage is really bad here anyway so it takes forever to load.’
    ‘Tell me about it – it’s so annoying. You’re welcome to come down here and use it any time you want,’ he said.
    ‘Oh, thanks!’
    Colin was turning out to be a nice guy.
    ‘I’m sure you could even stay over sometime if you needed a break. I’d go insane if I had to live in the same room as my mam.’
    ‘Wouldn’t your mam have something to say about … y’know, me staying here?’
    ‘Nah, she wouldn’t mind, she knows you’re not my type,’ said Colin with a laugh.
    ‘Well, you’re not my type either!’ I snapped.
    ‘No, sorry, that’s not what I meant, Jacki. I’m … I’m gay. Sorry, I presumed you knew.’ Colin looked down at his feet, and I instantly regretted being so snappy.
    He’d taken me completely by surprise. ‘Oh! No … nobody told me.’
    ‘Well, it’s not such a big deal any more, I suppose. It was hard at first, but I came out last year so by now most people around here just accept it.’
    ‘That’s really cool. And I would definitely like to stay over sometime.’
    ‘So what’s your type then?’ said Colin as I followed him back into the sitting room.
    ‘Em … I dunno really,’ I said, but Nick Reynolds’s name suddenly popped into my head. I had tried to forget about him, but I just wasn’t able to. Colin probably knew him … It was such a small village. Maybe I could find out more about him. ‘So …’ I said. ‘I was thinking maybe you could introduce me to some of your friends? I know literally nobody here.’
    ‘Sure, there’s a good gang in Avarna. I’ll let you know what’s going on. Here, let me take your number now,’ he said, taking out his phone.
    ‘Thanks,’ I said with a smile and called it out. ‘Well … I’ve already met two people: Nick from the shop and his girlfriend, but only briefly.’
    ‘Nick’s one of my best mates!’ said Colin excitedly.
    ‘No way.’ I tried to sound casual, but was really happy to hear that. I thought of quizzing Colin about Nick and Sarah’s relationship, but I didn’t want to be too obvious, so I decided to leave it till another time.
    Through the sitting-room window I could see Des’s van pulling up outside his terraced house across the road. He walked round the van and helped an old woman out of the passenger side. Taking her by the arm, he led her to his front door.
    ‘Is that Des’s mum?’ I asked.
    Colin glanced out the window. ‘Yes. He lives with her. She hasn’t been too well lately.’
    ‘What’s wrong with her?’
    ‘She had pneumonia.’
    ‘Oh no, the poor woman.’ I watched the dark figures moving behind the lace curtains.
    ‘She’s recovering though,’ said Colin, leaning back on the couch.
    ‘Did his wife die? Or is he divorced?’ I asked as I rearranged the cushions a bit to get comfortable.
    ‘He never married,’ said Colin.
    ‘Really?’ I decided not to mention Des and my mum. Talking about something can make it feel more real sometimes. And there was no way I wanted him to become part of our lives.
    Just as Des’s