Right Place, Right Time

Kiss You

He gave me a small, tentative smile and although I was still pretty upset with him with him after his behaviour the night before, I couldn't help smiling back.

"Hello Harry," I said.

"I'm here because I owe you an explanation about what happened last night," he said. "I need to tell you about Jacinta."

"Yes, you do," I said. I crossed my arms over my chest, bracing myself for what was about to come.

"Right then," he began. "So, uh, Jacinta is a freelance stylist we sometimes use when our stylist Caroline needs a bit of help. She's also the sister of one of the girls at Syco, so she comes along to a lot of events like the party last night."

"Oh, OK," I said. She'd probably been on the scene for some time, so it was possible that something had been going on between them for a while.

"Jacinta is very.... uh," he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "She's very pretty, obviously, and bubbly, and friendly, and outgoing, and she's always very helpful. She's really endeared herself to people, I guess you could say."

I could just imagine how she had endeared herself to him. Ew. Sometimes having a vivid imagination like mine was not a good thing.

"And because of that, a lot of people really trust her and like her."

He paused again.

"But I'm not one of them."

What?

Did he just say what I thought he said?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean I don't trust her, and because of that, I don't like her. You know how I said last night that it didn't matter if we got a bit, um, down and dirty with the dancing because everyone at the club could be trusted to protect our privacy?"

I nodded. I remembered it well.

"Well, I thought they could, until I realised Jacinta was there. I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her."

I needed a moment for his words to sink in. I had thought he had been about to tell me there was something going on between him and Jacinta. I was not expecting this.

"Why don't you trust her?" I asked.

He pushed his hand through his hair again. "There have been a few occasions where things me and the other lads have said or done in private, or photos of us from events like the party last night, have been leaked to papers and websites. We've never known who was behind it, and that was bugging me. So I sat down one day and went through a process of elimination about who I thought it could be.

"I realised Jacinta had been at all those events where photos had been leaked, and she was there floating around in the background when confidential stuff was being discussed. And they way she asks a lot of questions about what is going on is a bit suspect.

"Everyone else thinks she's too sweet and nice to do anything underhand, but to be honest, I think all that bubbliness is an act. She's a fake. She's making money out of selling stuff about us to the media."

I watched his face as he talked. He was no fool, this boy. He was a lot more perceptive and switched on than a lot of people probably ever gave him credit for.

"I'm always very careful when she is around, and I never say or do anything in front of her that I don't want splashed all over the media. That's why," he continued, rubbing his hand across his chin, "I panicked when you were on my knee and I looked up and saw her standing there.