Sugar Secrets…& Lust

by Mel Sparke

  Sugar

  SECRETS…

  …& Lust

  Mel Sparke

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  CHAPTER 1 GIRLS’ NIGHT IN

  CHAPTER 2 CAT’S CHALLENGE

  CHAPTER 3 SONJA SOUNDS OFF

  CHAPTER 4 BOYWATCH

  CHAPTER 5 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

  CHAPTER 6 SONJA’S FIRST DATE

  CHAPTER 7 WHO’S THE HUNK?

  CHAPTER 8 CHAT-UP NUMBER TWO

  CHAPTER 9 ANNA’S MYSTERY MAN

  CHAPTER 10 CATCHING UP

  CHAPTER 11 ANNA OPENS UP

  CHAPTER 12 MATT COMES UP TRUMPS

  CHAPTER 13 SONJA ON A ROLL

  CHAPTER 14 THE MISSING PIECES

  CHAPTER 15 A HANDFUL OF TROUBLE

  CHAPTER 16 THE TIME OF HER LIFE?

  CHAPTER 17 DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR SONJA

  CHAPTER 18 THE TABLES ARE TURNED

  CHAPTER 19 BACK TO SQUARE ONE

  Sugar SECRETS … …& Mistake

  SOME SECRETS ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO KEEP TO YOURSELF!

  DO YOU ACT BEFORE YOU THINK?

  SCORES

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  CHAPTER 1

  GIRLS’ NIGHT IN

  “Oh my God. I look like Lily Savage!” Sonja Harvey stared at her reflection in the mirror with horror.

  “Don’t exaggerate. You look sophisticated, sort of classy, like a Hollywood film star.” Catrina Osgood was delighted with the new look she’d just given her cousin.

  “More like a Hollywood hooker, I’d say. I can’t believe you’ve done this to me, Cat…”

  “Oh, come on, Son, you’re over-reacting! If I’d thought you were going to make this much fuss, I would never have offered to do it in the first place.”

  “Offer? It was hardly an offer. You practically frogmarched me in here! All I did was happen to mention that I fancied a make-over and you’d got me in here before I had time to finish the sentence. And now look at me!” Sonja pulled a face at her own reflection. “The foundation’s so thick it looks like you’ve put it on with a trowel. There’s glitter on my chin, and eyeshadow on my temples and in my hair.” Unable to bear looking at her unrecognisable self any longer, she glared at Cat. “Are you blind or something?”

  “It’s supposed to be like that, you idiot. It’s my Disco Queen look, for when you’re in a dark club. It’s meant to bring your features out when the light’s not so good. Honestly, Sonja, I can’t believe you’re so unwilling to try something new. If you ever decide to take up modelling, you’ll have to be a bit more adventurous with your looks, you know.”

  Sonja flinched. She’d toyed with the idea of modelling in the past, but she’d never really decided whether it was going to be a serious option or not.

  “Let’s get the others.” Cat headed for the door. “I bet they’ll love it and you’ll wonder what you were making such a fuss about.”

  Sonja couldn’t bear the thought of her friends seeing her like this.

  “You must be joking! I’m not leaving this bedroom until all this muck is off my face. Pass me my cleanser, will you?”

  But it was too late. Catrina had opened the bedroom door. She scurried eagerly on to the Harveys’ landing and called downstairs to the living room where Kerry was giving Maya a manicure.

  “Come on, girls! I’ve finished. Sonja’s transformation is complete. And fantastic, if I say so myself.”

  Kerry Bellamy stopped buffing Maya’s right index finger, looked at her friend and rolled her eyes dramatically.

  “This I’ve got to see,” she said, getting up off the floor and heading for the stairs. Maya followed, a look of trepidation on her face.

  These girlie get-togethers at Sonja’s house (no one else had enough space) were a laugh, but Cat’s bossy enthusiasm and tendency to hijack the proceedings often grated on Kerry. She had been relieved when Cat had picked Sonja to be make-over guinea pig for the night and dreaded to think what a beauty-product addict like Cat had done to their effortlessly gorgeous friend.

  Sonja was still in her room, frantically turning her dressing table upside-down in a fruitless search for her cleanser. Then Catrina came back into the room, waving a bottle in her hand.

  “Looking for this?” she grinned.

  “You cow…!”

  “Aw, come on, you’re not destroying all my hard work that easily.”

  At that moment, Kerry and Maya walked in and gasped in unison.

  “Fabulous, isn’t it?” beamed Catrina.

  Maya stared wide-eyed at Sonja’s face and struggled to find something positive to say. It was difficult, since Maya thought her friend looked ridiculous.

  For once, Kerry wasn’t so reticent.

  “It’s Eddie Izzard,” she laughed. Then, seeing the thunderous look on Sonja’s face, she swiftly changed tack. “Uhhh, only joking. Son. It’s just a bit of a shock to see you in any make-up at all. You look, er. different, sort of older. More mature. Anyway, it’s certainly eye-catching…”

  “Yeah,” added Maya, “it’s interesting. Very daring…”

  “And totally gross,” Sonja grimaced. She pointed a finger at her cousin. “I can’t believe I was daft enough to let her loose on my face like that. No wonder she wouldn’t let me see until it was finished. She just wanted to make a fool of me.”

  Catrina’s smile vanished and she glared furiously at Sonja. “I cannot believe you think that. I was only trying to do something different. I won’t bother next time.”

  Sensing that things were beginning to get out of hand, Maya tried to diffuse the situation.

  “To be honest, I think you’re both being a little over-sensitive here. Everyone has different styles and ideas when it comes to putting on make-up. It’s just that both of yours are worlds apart. What’s so bad about that?”

  Kerry nodded vigorously, encouraging Maya to go on.

  “Catrina would look great made up like that, Son,” continued Maya, “and I think it’s, er, really nice of her to try it on you. Even if you’ve decided that it isn’t right for you. At least now you know.”

  “I bet if you turned the tables and tried out one of your unmade-up make-up looks on Cat, she wouldn’t be so keen on it either,” put in Kerry. “And then you’d be really offended, wouldn’t you?”

  Sonja nodded grudgingly.

  “What I’m saying,” Maya carried on, “is that the whole point of these girls’ nights in is for us all to try out new things, have a laugh and a bit of fun.”

  She sat down on the bed. “I mean, one of the things I’d love to do tonight is try on that new pink top of yours. Son. Not because I think I’ll look great in it, but to confirm that it’s totally wrong for me. Once I know that, I won’t need to humiliate myself in front of a load of Miss Selfridge shop assistants by trying one on and looking stupid in it. You guys will be doing me a favour by telling me instead.”

  Suitably distracted, Sonja went to her wardrobe and pulled the candy-coloured top from its hanger.

  “Is this the one you mean?”

  “Yeah.” Maya took the top and began rubbing the material between her fingers. “It’s gorgeous. I keep having fantasies about being able to wear something like this. But I know it’s totally the wrong colour and style for me. I just need to try it on to break the fantasy.”

  “Go on then,” said Sonja. “I bet it’ll look great on you.”

  Maya pulled off the sloppy T-shirt she was wearing and hauled the stretchy material over her head. Adjusting herself in the mirror she turned resignedly to her friends and shrugged.

  “See? Dreadful. Total failure. Clothes like these should come with a health warning saying that Maya Joshi or
anyone else not built like Kate Moss should avoid them at all costs. Am I right?”

  Sonja scratched her head and frowned. “Uh, yeah. I guess you are.”

  “Just like I didn’t realise quite how much you’d hate that make-up,” Catrina added.

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Oh, fab, pizza’s here,” cried Kerry and rushed out of the room, followed by Maya. “Come on, everyone, Titanic’s ready to go on the video. The tissues are on standby. Let’s eat!” she yelled back over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs.

  “I won’t be a tick,” Sonja said. “I’ll just, er, clean up my face, then I’ll be down. Thanks for the make-over, Cat,” she added as she headed for the bathroom. “And sorry I was so ungrateful. It was just a bit of a shock.”

  “No worries. Maybe I’ll try out my Beach Babe look on you next time,” said Cat with a grin.

  CHAPTER 2

  CAT’S CHALLENGE

  “Hurry up and…(sniff) pass the tissues please. Son (sniff). My glasses are all steamed up.”

  “Sorry, Kez. Didn’t mean to hog them. It’s j-j-just that this film is sooo sad.”

  “I know. I can’t believe I’ve seen it about twenty times and it still makes me cry…”

  “I know. And Leonardo DiCaprio is sooo cute. He doesn’t deserve to die.”

  “But it wouldn’t be such a good film if he’d lived, would it?” Maya began analysing as the end credits to Titanic rolled in front of them on the TV screen. “I mean, it’s only so blubworthy because he dies. Otherwise, it’d be like any other love story with a run of the mill perfect ending.”

  “Yeah, Maya’s right,” Catrina added. “It wouldn’t be half as good if they all lived happily ever after. Anyway, I’m glad he dies. He looks like a nasty little rodent with those beady eyes and tiny mouth. I can’t see what all the fuss is about him being such a hunk. I’ve seen better-looking guys than him at St Mark’s. Arrrgh!”

  Catrina squealed and ducked to avoid the cushions that Sonja and Kerry had hurled at her.

  “How can you say that?” wailed Sonja. “I’ll tell you, if there was a guy even half as good-looking as him at college, then I’d be going out with him by now.”

  “Me too,” Maya added.

  “As it is,” Sonja went on, “Kerry’s got the only decent boyfriend around here, while the rest of us sit around wondering if we’re going to end up like a bunch of sad old spinsters.”

  “Speak for yourself,” said Catrina archly. “I’ll have you know I’ve got guys falling over themselves trying to go out with me at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever been so popular.”

  “So what are you doing here with us on a Saturday night then?” Sonja asked. “Why aren’t you snogging the face off some poor victim somewhere?”

  “Well, a girl’s got to have the odd night off, you know. If I didn’t, I’d be worn out.”

  “Anyway,” added Maya, “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, Sonja Harvey. You must get more offers than the rest of us put together.”

  “Pah, don’t you believe it!” Sonja snorted indignantly. “I can’t remember the last time I had an offer from anyone other than one of the two-headed, single-brain-celled monsters round here. It’s so long since I had a snog, I’ve almost forgotten where my lips are.”

  “Well, at least you’re getting interest,” Maya continued, “however unwelcome it might be. It must boost your ego to know someone fancies you, even if you don’t like them back. I’d be flattered if I knew anyone was after me…”

  “Not if he was a complete idiot, you wouldn’t,” giggled Sonja. “And I don’t know what you’re moaning about, Maya. That Billy from your photography club is desperate to go out with you.”

  “It’s not like that. He’s just a friend.”

  “But only by your choosing. If I remember rightly-and I do-you had the hots for him at first. Then you had one date with the poor guy and suddenly you cooled off.”

  Maya looked perplexed. Sonja was right. She could have started going out with Billy, but something had made her back off before they’d even got to the holding hands stage. At first she’d thought it was because she sensed (wrongly, as it turned out) that he was more interested in the fact that Maya was Asian than she was. She soon realised it was more than that though.

  “I know,” she muttered. “I just decided we’d get along better as friends. I can’t tell you why exactly. It was a gut feeling. But before I met Billy there was no one, and there’s nobody new on the horizon.”

  “The problem with you guys is you’re far too picky,” Catrina said, and looked genuinely surprised when the others fell about laughing.

  “Unlike you, you mean,” Sonja finally managed to say between giggles.

  “Actually, no, I didn’t mean that at all,” Catrina shot back. “But it’s like this. I think that you should try all the cakes in the shop in order to find the one that you like best. I mean, some guys are like jam doughnuts-nothing special to look at but totally delish when you take that first bite.” She paused. “You haven’t got anything else to eat have you, Son? I’m still starving and that pizza was so tiny.”

  “Only bourbons,” said Sonja, heading for the kitchen to raid the biscuit tin. “Anyway, there is this one guy that I might be interested in…”

  She left the room to uniform yells of “Who?! Quick, tell us!”

  “Wee-lll,” she carried on as she came back with two family packs of chocolate biscuits, “he’s not in the same league as Leonardo, not even in the same stratosphere, but I reckon he’s the best I’ve seen for a while. Above average for a Winstead lad, anyway…” Her voice tailed off to a tantalising silence.

  “So?!” wailed Kerry. “Come on, Son, what else? What’s his name? Do we know him? What’s he look like? Does he know you? Have you spoken to him? Spill the beans!”

  Sonja laughed. “I knew that piece of news would get you going. His name is Kyle. I remember him from a couple of years back when he had a summer job alongside Lottie at the superstore. I never paid him much attention until last week when I saw him working in that new sports shop in the Plaza with a whole new haircut. Total transformation-amazingly cute. You wouldn’t think it was the same guy.”

  “Oh, yeah, I think I vaguely remember him,” Kerry butted in excitedly.

  “Anyway, he definitely saw me gawping at him in the street because he smiled and sort of mouthed hello really cheekily, but that’s as far as it’s gone to date. I really can’t tell you anything more.”

  “Come on, you must!” howled Catrina. “I mean, you said he’s cute. How cute? Who does he look like-anyone famous? Are you besotted, or just mildly interested because there’s no one else on the scene and you’re desperate? Come on, Son, what’s the story?”

  Sonja ran her fingers through her honey-blonde hair and sighed dramatically.

  “I am not desperate,” she stressed, “and I’m not besotted either. But he is kind of the only guy who’s raised my heartbeat even a little bit in the last few months. And there’s something about him that reminds me of David Beckham, now he’s got the haircut…”

  “So what are you going to do about it? Have you got a plan of action?” Catrina demanded. “Ten ways to get him to notice you’, that kind of thing?”

  “I haven’t thought about it that much,” shrugged Sonja, even though she had really. “I’ll probably wait and see what develops.”

  “Ooh, you mustn’t do that,” Catrina chided. “You need to have a plan. I always do, even if I know he’s a sure thing. You need to have a whole bunch of opening lines, to get the conversation rolling. And I always know within the first five minutes whether a guy’s interested in me or not, just by watching his reactions.”

  “What do you mean-if he doesn’t throw up, there’s a chance he might fancy you?” Sonja grinned mischievously.

  “Ha ha! What I’m saying is that if he seems to be listening intently to me, and if he keeps his eyes on min
e, there’s a good chance he’s interested. But if he keeps looking over my shoulder, or if he’s giving one-word answers, or has his arms folded across his chest defensively, then I’m probably wasting my time.”

  “I read in a magazine that it’s a good sign if the guy you’re interested in starts to mimic your actions,” said Maya. “So if you take a sip of your drink, he copies, or if you stand with your elbow on the bar, he does the same.”

  Kerry looked somewhat bewildered by all of this. She’d never heard anything so contrived in all her life. She certainly couldn’t ever remember being that calculating when she started to fancy Ollie. It all seemed to happen much more naturally than that.

  “The thing you lot seem to be forgetting,” she ventured finally, “is that Sonja doesn’t need any of these tips on how to score. She only has to smile at a guy to get him to fall for her. I’ve seen it happen loads of times.”

  “Aw, you say the nicest things!” Sonja smiled sweetly at Kerry. “And the best thing is, it’s all absolutely true. As soon as Kyle realises I’m on to him, he won’t know what’s hit him.”

  Catrina shot her cousin a scathing look. “You are confident,” she said, a challenging note in her voice.

  “Yeah, reasonably,” answered Sonja.

  “OK, why don’t we see just how good your pulling power is?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Catrina said, thinking out loud, “if you’re so sure this Kyle guy will fall for you, you won’t mind if I give you a deadline to work towards.”

  “What sort of deadline?”

  “Well, how about I give you a week to get him to go out with you?”

  “Easy.” Sonja smiled even more confidently, then added, “Assuming, of course, that I actually see him in the next seven days.”

  “Of course.”

  “OK then. You’re on!”

  CHAPTER 3

  SONJA SOUNDS OFF

  Kerry sat on the edge of the spare bed in Sonja’s room in her pyjamas working moisturiser into her face with her fingers. She was pleased to be staying the night; it had been a while since the last Sonja’n’Kerry sleepover and it was great to have a chance to catch up.