How to Get to Rio (15 page)

For a few glorious minutes, Rio seemed relaxed, which meant I was, too. We stood and watched some kids in the surf, and we talked and laughed about dumb, nothing stuff. At last, Rio seemed to be himself.

Maybe he’s been nervous this whole time
, I thought,
and
now, at last, we’re actually connecting
.

Rio even got out his phone to show me a picture of his dog, Pequeño. (He had to spell it out for me.)

‘
Pequeño
means “small” in Spanish,’ he explained. ‘But it’s a family joke because he’s a Rhodesian Ridgeback.’ Rio showed me a picture of the most enormous dog I’d ever seen.

I told Rio about Sid, my cat. ‘He brings in dead things from the backyard and leaves them by my bed, so I stand on them in the morning
.’

I got out my phone, flicking past the dumb photo of Pit and me and loads of school ones until I found my favourite picture of Sid. It was a close-up of his face. He was smoky grey with a black patch around his eye, a bit like a pirate.

‘We should have known when we got him that he’d have attitude,’ I told Rio, laughing.

I glanced up to see what Rio thought of Sid, but he’d suddenly got shy again. He looked at the picture and said, ‘We should catch up with the others.’

I watched him stride off, wondering what had just happened, what I had said to upset him.
Does he really hate cats?
I wondered.

By the time we reached the far end of the beach Persephone and Jordan were practically holding hands while Rio and I had fallen into a silent, single-file march.

Something was definitely going on with him. Then it dawned on me. Rio didn’t have a thing about cats. He wasn’t nervous, or awkward. He didn’t have a problem with chocolate ice-cream or even mint.
He has a girlfriend.
The more I thought about it the more I knew it had to be true.

Rio was only here to make up the numbers, so Jordan could hang out with Persephone. Rio wanted to be nice to me, because he was a nice guy. But he didn’t want to be too nice, because he didn’t want to give me the wrong impression.
Maybe his girlfriend has a cat. And that’s what made him go all quiet
, I thought.

I sighed forlornly as I realised that the guy I’d been dreaming about for months was completely off limits. I’d been so excited about spending time with Rio and getting to know everything about him. Now none of that was going to happen. It couldn’t – not if he had a girlfriend. I felt crushed, like an elephant had knocked me to the sand and stamped all over my heart. I wanted to run away and hide, and maybe cry a little. But I couldn’t. What would Persephone think if I just bolted off without an explanation? All I could think to do was blink back my tears and traipse along after Rio.

I knew I had to find an excuse to get away. I really didn’t want to be the one to spoil Persephone’s love-in, but I was dying a slow and painful death.

‘So, should we get back?’ I eventually managed to get out. ‘Persephone, don’t forget you invited Izzy and Mia over tonight,’ I said, trying to sound upbeat.

Persephone looked at Rio and me. The huge gap between us should have made it pretty obvious what was going on.

‘I did, didn’t I?’ she said, smiling at me and then turning to Jordan. ‘Well, let’s make it a party. Are you guys free tonight?’

Jordan and Rio both answered together, but with opposite replies. Jordan said yes, while Rio’s response was no.

He looked so uncomfortable. I felt kind of sorry for him. ‘Remember, we’ve got that thing on tonight,’ Rio said to Jordan.

‘But that thing can wait,’ Jordan said, firmly. He turned to Persephone. ‘We’ll be there. What time?’

Persephone made all the arrangements and outlined the plan for the night: fruit-punch cocktails by the pool, then pizzas and a DVD. I would have loved that plan at any other time, but right at that moment it sounded worse than a three-hour algebra test.

‘See you tonight,’ Persephone called out as the guys headed off the other way down the beach.

Jordan grinned at her and waved at me. Rio could barely manage a nod.

‘What’s up with Rio?’ Persephone asked as we headed back to her apartment. ‘Did he swallow a bee or something? I used to think he was really nice, but he was being a total weirdo just now.’

‘Luckily, Jordan made up for it,’ I said, trying to hide my disappointment. ‘You two look really cute together.’

Persephone smiled, but then looked at me seriously. ‘Sorry things were awkward with Rio. I don’t know what happened.’

‘Did Jordan say anything?’

‘Nothing about you and Rio,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Strange, hey? Unless … do you think there’s another girl involved?’

I nodded. ‘That’s exactly what I think. He was actually starting to chill until I showed him a picture of my cat.’

Persephone frowned. ‘Huh?’

‘His girlfriend probably has a cat,’ I explained. ‘Anyway, so I guess it’s all over for me.’

‘What? Really? You’re just giving up?’

‘Well, I’m not chasing after a guy who’s not into me,’ I told Persephone.

‘No, of course not. You don’t have to chase him,’ she said. ‘But maybe there’s something else you could try.’

‘You know how I said to be yourself and Rio will like you?’ Persephone said, holding a pair of sparkly silver shorts up against me. ‘Well, forget all that. Let’s try something different.’

‘Hotpants aren’t going to change how Rio feels about me,’ I said flatly.

Persephone threw the shorts on my bed and went through her wardrobe, looking for a top to go with them. ‘No, but I bet they’ll work on my brother.’

‘Aren’t I trying to impress Rio?’ I asked, feeling confused.

Persephone shook her head. ‘The new plan is to make Rio jealous. So you’re going to ignore him all night and talk to my brother instead. Then, Rio will realise what a catch you are and swoop in!’

‘Have you tried this tactic before?’ I asked, doubtfully.

‘Sure. Tori does it all the time,’ Persephone said.

‘And how does it go?’

Persephone thought for a moment. ‘Well, mixed results.’ She must have seen my frown, because suddenly she sounded way too enthusiastic. ‘More good than bad, actually. And I think we’ve got a great shot tonight, because we’re in control. It’ll be like starring in our own movie. We’ve got the venue, chosen the actors, designed the costumes, and we know how it’s all going to end. You and Rio together, just how it should be!’

‘And if it doesn’t work out like that?’ I said, holding up the hotpants.

Persephone brushed the idea away as she threw a cute little top at me and then began to run a straightener over her hair. ‘It has to. Look, I don’t find acting that easy either. But if that’s what it takes for you and Rio to be together, it has to be done.’

I could totally understand why Persephone was so keen to make things work between Rio and me. It wouldn’t be fun for anyone if we were moping around while she and Jordan were trying to have fun. I had reservations, though. I didn’t want to come between Rio and his girlfriend.

But Persephone didn’t believe it could be anything serious. ‘If Rio had a proper girlfriend, I’d know about it,’ Persephone said. ‘Jordan would have said something. Even Rio would have said something. No, if Rio has a girlfriend, this is very new.’

Persephone was convinced something had happened during the afternoon to change Rio’s mind about me. So we went back through Jordan’s texts. It seemed clear Rio had been keen to hang out when the texts came through, but then, a couple of hours later, something had changed. We figured he must have bumped into someone he knew on the beach – or met someone he wanted to get to know.

‘It just can’t be serious at this stage,’ Persephone said as she chose a nail polish to go with her orange top. ‘And we made our date with the guys first, so basically, Kitty, some other girl is muscling in on your guy.’

I looked in the mirror, applying lip gloss. ‘I guess so.’

Rio’s girlfriend wasn’t my only concern about our plan. Our biggest problem was making it actually work. To make Rio jealous, George had to be interested in me. I didn’t think there was much hope of that, whether I was wearing silver hotpants or not.

‘You’ve got to think like an actress,’ Persephone coached. ‘Play the part. Don’t just talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.’

‘What does that mean?’ I asked, totally confused.

Persephone shrugged. ‘Actually, I have no idea,’ she said. ‘It’s what Dad says when he wants me to put more effort into something.’

Persephone paused to run her fingers through her perfect, glossy hair. ‘Look, I’m acting already – I’m being my father.’ She stood on her toes and stuck out her tummy and frowned. ‘Now, go to bed and don’t have any fun, ever,’ she said in a deep voice. ‘And you’re grounded for the rest of your life. With no allowance!’

I gave her a clap. ‘Bravo!’

Persephone took a bow. ‘Now, it’s your turn to act.’

‘Who should I be?’

Persephone thought for a bit. ‘Try Tori. She normally gets her own way.’

I thought for a bit. I had no idea how to act like Tori. If I had a choice, I’d play Persephone. She was cool and fun, and guys loved her. But I couldn’t say that – it would sound too weird. ‘Guess I’m Tori then,’ I said.

As we finished getting ready, we went through the plan one more time. Persephone and I agreed that nothing could be left to chance. The whole night had to be scripted from the moment everyone arrived until the second the guys left. We had to know when to stand, when to sit, when to talk and when to listen. The whole night had to work.

Persephone had even briefed her mother to let the guys and Izzy and Mia into the apartment and show them outside to the pool area, where we would be waiting with fruit-punch cocktails.

The pool area was shared by all of the apartments in the block, but Persephone and her family were the only ones who ever used it. It was like an exclusive private party venue, overlooking the beach.

‘This is going to be the best night ever,’ Persephone said, dragging the last of the sun lounges into place and spreading frangipani flowers around them. She lit the candles and then lined up the fruit cocktail glasses and decorated them with tiny umbrellas.

I would have helped her, but I was busy practising walking in Persephone’s wedges. They looked amazing, but they were hard to master.

‘No-one said this was going to easy,’ Persephone called as I wobbled across the terrace for a third time.

In the end, Persephone gave the idea the thumbs down. She was sure I would fall into the pool, ruin my chances with Rio and ruin her wedges in the process.

Once everything was ready, we practised reclining like movie stars on the sun lounges. It was harder than it looked. Persephone leant so far back that she tipped the sun lounge over. Then I did something wrong and the whole thing collapsed under me. I was still trying to get untangled when we heard the buzzer at the apartment.

‘No-one’s meant to be here for another three minutes!’ Persephone gasped, with a panicked look on her face. Quickly, she smoothed her hair and ran for her sun lounge. ‘I’m in this one, and you’re over there next to the cocktails.’

I frowned. ‘Wasn’t I going to be next to you when the guys arrived and then move to the one next to the cocktails, so Jordan could be next to you?’

Persephone’s eyes darted from one lounge to the other. ‘That’s right! Quick, into place!’

She stretched out on a lounge and I raced to the one beside her. I got there just in time to see Persephone’s brother, George, come through the pool gate with a couple of guys, all in board shorts.

That so
wasn’t
part of the plan! George had been told to wait until Rio and Jordan had arrived to come to the pool, and he wasn’t meant to bring friends!

I glanced over at Persephone. She was no longer reclining like a movie star. She was sitting up, glaring at George, looking very much like an angry sister.

‘Hey, what are you guys doing here?’ she demanded. ‘You’re not supposed to be here now.’

‘Whadda ya think, Percy Pony?’ George said calmly, tossing his towel on the sun lounge that had been allocated to Rio. ‘We’re going for a swim.’

Persephone jumped to her feet, swept George’s towel off the lounge and threw it on the one George was meant to be using. ‘But I told you –’