Distracted By You: Book 1 in The Exeter Running Girls Series, стр. 26

“If you didn’t like it so much, you could get out from here, I’m not completely trapping you in.”

I looked around, but I couldn’t do it without causing a scene, I mean a real scene – knocking the basket off or pushing over a tower of cereal boxes.

“You know I can’t do that without causing a rather dramatic spectacle.”

“Course darling. Give it any excuse you like,” he was stood so close I could feel his breath in my ear. He made my skin feel like it was crawling. “You know, Rosie and I had our thing six years ago now.”

The mention of Rosie made my eyes shoot down to the ladybugs on my hand. One of the ladybugs was tickling the other one.

I silently begged him to stop talking.

“I get that the prospect of you and me might be a little uncomfortable for you.”

“A little?” I snapped back, trying to lean away from him, but he just stepped nearer.

“My point is, Ivy. It was six years ago. Rosie and I were just kids and we never went –”

“I don’t need to hear the details,” I covered my face as he continued to tap something into the machine. I knew the details anyway. Rosie and I were sisters after all, and at the age where you tell each other everything exciting.

“My point is time has passed. We’re different people.”

“You certainly are. You’re a lot creepier than I remember.” Why couldn’t he just be sweet boy Kyle again? He had to still be there, underneath it all.

“We need to work on your flirting skills,” he sniggered as he logged out of the machine. “I like you. You like me. Why not?”

“First off,” I started scanning the bagels, trying my best to ignore him standing so close and not raise my voice. I was tempted though. I wanted to shout in the middle of the supermarket – creepy guy bothering me! Where’s the manager? “I don’t like you. You have thoroughly unnerved me.”

“How about just sex then?”

His words earned a sharp elbow to the stomach as I paid contactless with the card, at least it made him back off.

“When hell freezes over, and the devil wears a crown made of icicles.” I snapped at him and marched away with my bag.

Climbing the stairs to the flat I found I was breathing deeply, trying to expel the memory of my encounter with Kyle. I was officially frightened, not just creeped out. He had to still be the kind boy he was with Rosie. He just had to! Surely this was just a phase. It would pass. He would go back to who he was. This behaviour wasn’t anything serious.

As I reached the top of the steps, I walked round in a small circle, debating whether I should tell Tye or not what had happened. In a way, I wanted to tell someone. No one knew, for some reason I didn’t understand why I hadn’t even told the girls. They would jump straight on their high horses and go say something to Kyle, but I guess I didn’t want that.

I think deep down, I still felt sorry for the guy. He was dating Rosie after all when she died. That had to hurt.

Yet this was just another thing entirely and he was taking it too far. It would pass. It had to pass.

I reached for the door, determined to tell Tye, then dismissed it just as quickly, my hand hovering over the door handle. No – it was the kind of thing you tell a boyfriend and we were not dating. Even if I wished we were.

As I stood there hovering, the door swung inwards and Sam appeared, not looking particularly happy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, startling him.

“It’s –” he waved behind him into the flat, but he didn’t have chance to explain. He was interrupted by two loud voices coming from the living room. They were arguing and one of the voices clearly belonged to Tye. “I’m tapping out. It’s your turn to watch them,” Sam beckoned me inside as he stepped out. “I have to get out of here for a bit.”

“You’re going?” I gestured to the two people arguing as though steam was coming out of their heads.

“I’ve been watching for the last hour and a half. They’re showing no sign of slowing down. I need a break. Ring me if it gets out of hand.”

“This isn’t out of hand?” I gestured again, waving madly.

“I mean if one of them actually goes for the other one’s throat.”

To me they had definitely crossed the bridge of being out of hand. As the door shut, I shifted my focus to the argument.

Tye was rung out, the sleeves of his grey t-shirt were rolled up to his elbows, he was red with rage and his hair was messy, probably from running his hands across the back of his neck multiple times in stress. Even through his tanned cheeks, he looked red with anger, and his eyes were wide in disbelief of what the other man was saying.

Said man must have been Tye’s dad. He was the same height, had a similar bone structure and even stronger Spanish colouring. Speaking of which they were arguing in Spanish, so I couldn’t understand a single word.

Tye had told me his dad was from Barcelona and Tye himself had lived there until they moved to his mum’s hometown in Sussex when he was seven.

Though I couldn’t grasp a word, the argument was very fast and they both gestured wildly with their arms. Tye hadn’t noticed I’d come in and I didn’t want to draw his attention. Well, he sort of looked preoccupied.

I slipped behind the kitchen island and pulled out a stool to