Page 7 of The Night Before Christmas
‘Thanks for not mentioning the C word,’ she said after a while, mouth full of crisps.
‘You’re most welcome,’ said James, raising an eyebrow. ‘But I didn’t think you were that kind of girl, to be honest.’
Felicity laughed a little too loudly at that, only just managing to stifle a snort.
‘Not that C word, you numpty,’ she said, throwing a Malteser at his head. ‘The other one.’
‘Oh, that,’ he said. ‘To be honest this is the best C word I’ve had for quite a long time. Maybe for years, in fact.’
She stopped munching and looked at him intently.
‘Actually, me too,’ she said. And meant it.
In fact, this is the best day I’ve had for quite a long time, full stop.
‘So, why do you hate it so much?’ he asked, returning her stare as he screwed the cap off his bottle of beer in one smooth move.
She shifted position on the slightly (extremely) uncomfortable pile of cushions she had constructed on the dingy orange carpet tiles.
‘Do we have to do this now?’ she said, tilting her head to one side.
He smiled. ‘No, you’re right, let’s not do that today. Tell me something good instead. A really fat juicy secret. Or something you’re proud of.’
Felicity reached for a veggie sausage roll, and pondered.
‘That’s a good question. I once got my ten-metre swimming badge. Does that count?’
‘It really depends. Do you mean “once” when you were ten years old or “once” as in, you know, last week?’
‘Hey, ten metres is ten metres!’
‘True, true. Okay, fine, that counts.’
‘But I was ten. Well, maybe eleven. Just for the record. Your turn.’
‘Okay. Erm. I rescued a kitten from dying last night.’
‘No, no, no.’ She shook her head. ‘That doesn’t count because I know that about you already. I mean, it’s awesome and everything, don’t get me wrong. But… I want to know something about you I don’t know.’ She realised even as she said it that she knew hardly anything about him at all.
‘Okay, okay. Erm… I can identify every British plane from the Second World War. I used to go to air shows every year with my dad. I just love them. There you are. I nearly went onYou Betwith that one.’ He grinned. ‘You’re probably too young to rememberYou Bet.’
‘Sadly not,’ said Felicity, with a chuckle. ‘You’re a plane geek. I love that.’
‘Your turn again,’ he said, waving a fake Dorito at her.
Felicity’s left leg was slowly going to sleep where it was crossed beneath her, and she began an ambitious attempt to pull it out from underneath her without toppling off her cushion pile.
‘Hmmm, how can I top that one?’ She wobbled, sticking her arms out for balance. ‘Okay, I see your plane geekdom and I raise you one East Midlands chess champion – under fourteens.’
James smiled. ‘This went dark quickly. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I think we need a tournament. It’s not just planes that make me go all geeky, you know.’
‘You’re on,’ said Felicity, ‘but bear in mind I’m seriously sleep-deprived and, also, I’m not fourteen anymore.’
‘I’m very glad to hear it,’ said James in a low voice and Felicity felt the blood rush to her ears.
‘Quickly, tell me another.’
‘Fine, well I can’t think of any juicy secrets as such, but I do have a confession, does that count?’
