High Heels and Pink Glitter (18+) COMPLETE, FREE TO READ CHICK LIT

The Parkour Girl

"Can I have a cheese and ham sandwich, please?"

His uncle hadn't been kidding when he said how busy working at a festival would be. The van was at Linlithgow, the festival called the Party at the Palace. Ryan had hoped for something a little more...cool. The Proclaimers and Billy Ocean headlining wasn't that, and he hoped his disappointment hadn't shown.

Nevertheless, when the van arrived – he was with Daniel and a guy called Lewis who usually worked in Stuffed!'s Hyndland shop – at the site he had cheered up considerably. There were loads of people milling about, and there was a dance tent that he hoped to get to later when business slowed down.

Mind you, it hadn't slowed down yet. At first, Ryan thought he'd never be able to cope. As soon as Daniel threw open the van's serving hatch, people crowded around shouting their orders thick and fast. No-one seemed to want the same sandwich or wrap. They asked for complicated versions – butter, no butter, mayo, no mayo, cheese with tomatoes, cheese with coleslaw. How on earth would he be able to remember it all? Daniel started him off buttering bread and spreading hummus on wraps. Between them, he and Lewis finished the sandwiches off and took the orders. There wasn't a lot of space in the van and Ryan quickly realised why Daniel insisted he keep the area he was working in as tidy as possible. There just wasn't room for a mess.

The voice asking for a cheese and ham sandwich sounded familiar and he glanced up, looking through the window. It was Instagram girl, or should he call her Parkour girl? That might be a bit more respectful, seeing as the last time he had seen her she hadn't been wearing many clothes. As if she had discerned his thoughts, the girl caught his eye and he blushed.

Daniel and Lewis were dealing with a couple of other orders. Ryan moved forward so he could lean out of the hatch and take the girl's order.

"Hiya – you want a cheese and ham sandwich?" Should he introduce himself? Did she remember him?

"It's Erin, isn't it?"

The girl looked surprised, and then nodded. "Oh, yeah. Ryan. What are you doing here?"

Ryan looked over his shoulder. "I'm here wi' my uncle. He owns the van. I'm working."

Lewis brushed past him, reaching for the tub of cheese to the left of him. "Sparkling repartee there, my son," he whispered as he did so, snorting in amusement as Ryan blushed even more. Unasked, Lewis had taken over the order and he handed over the sandwich, taking Erin's money.

She picked up her order, the sandwich neatly wrapped in Stuffed!'s branded paper, but didn't move away.

"What time are you working till?" she asked. Behind Ryan, Daniel and Lewis exchanged wry looks.

"Oh, er, I dunno," Ryan replied. Daniel had asked him if he wanted to work at a festival and he'd said yes. The terms and conditions had not been discussed. He didn't know if they included any breaks.

Daniel had moved so that he was standing beside Ryan. "Come back in a couple of hours," he told Erin. "And we'll maybe let up slave driving young Ryan here."

Erin nodded and walked off. Daniel nudged Ryan. "And in the meantime, get working. If you're going to have a break, you need to have earned it!" He still sounded amused, so Ryan thought he didn't mind too much that one of his workers would be taking a break. Daniel had told him that usually he and Lewis did this festival by themselves as it was one of the smaller ones. Strictly speaking, he wasn't necessary.

"Thanks, Uncle Daniel," he said, and started washing up some of the equipment.

Erin returned two hours later. As Ryan had been watching the clock continuously since she'd left the first time, he was very relieved to see her having harboured doubts that she would return. She might have got a better offer in the meantime. Grabbing his hoodie from one of the hooks at the back of the van, he headed off with her, promising Daniel he would be back in two hours' time. It was now late afternoon.