Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson Page A

vacuum cleaner,” said Magda.
    “Well, Nadine’s always had a thing about vampires,” I said, trying to sound funny and flippant.
    I couldn’t stop staring at Nadine’s love bite. When we were little we used to experiment, sucking on each other’s arms to see what it felt like. When we got older we agreed love bites were
gross
. And yet now Nadine had one right at the front of her neck so that it wasn’t even hidden by her hair. I tried not to think of Liam doing it to her but I couldn’t help it. It made me feel so weird. I couldn’t work out which I felt most, disgusted or envious.
    Mrs. Henderson’s feelings were more straightforward. “I think you need to go to the medical cupboard for a sticky plaster, Nadine,” she said coldly. “I don’t want to look at that stupid mark on your neck. Surely you realize how silly it is to let someone do that to you. It’s not exactly treating you with respect, is it? Let alone risking serious infection.”
    Nadine scowled. “Bet you’re just jealous,” she muttered.
    Not quietly enough. She got her detention too.
    Mrs. Henderson leaves us to finish our lines while she goes off to supervise a hockey practice.
    “Well, I’ve done my stupid lines so I don’t see why I can’t go now,” says Nadine, fidgeting.
    “She said we had to wait till she came back.”
    “It’s ridiculous. She’s got no right to comment on what I do out of school hours,” says Nadine, fingering the plaster covering her bite.
    “What on earth did your mum and dad say when they saw it?
    “Don’t be mad! I wound this scarf right round my neck, right? I tell you, if they found out about Liam they’d go seriously bananas.”
    “Nadine?”
    “What?” She doesn’t bother to look up. She gets a magazine out of her schoolbag and starts flipping through the pages.
    Nadine used to despise teen mags. She just read weird fanzines about her favorite bands and horror stories. But now she’s reading this problem page as if her life depends on it.
    “What’s it feel like? You know—the love bite?”
    Nadine shrugs.
    “Did you want him to do it?”
    “Well, he wants to do a lot
more
.”
    “And . . . do you let him?”
    Nadine wriggles. “Well,
some
things.” She hesitates. “Look, keep this a secret, right? Don’t even tell Magda.” There’s no one else in the room but she still leans forward and then whispers.
    “Nadine!” I say, stunned.
    “Well, what’s wrong with that, eh?” says Nadine. “Honestly, Ellie, you’re such a baby.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Everyone does that with their boyfriends.”
    “Do they?”
    “Well, I take it you don’t do it with Dan.” Nadine looks at me sharply.
    I try to imagine such intimacy with both my Dans. I think of doing it with the dream Dan and the blood starts beating in my own neck. Then I think of doing it with the real Dan and I practically crack up laughing.
    “What are you grinning about?” says Nadine. “So you
did
fool around with your Dan.”
    We’d certainly make fools of ourselves! “Chance would be a fine thing,” I mutter. “We don’t see each other, do we?”
    Dan (real, of course) has been nagging me to go and stay with him or invite him down to London. I keep putting him off with elaborate excuses, but it’s getting a bit awkward. The whole situation is so difficult I let out this long sigh.
    “Do you really miss him, Ellie?” says Nadine softly. She puts her arm round me, crumpling her magazine.
    I snuggle into her, though I feel guilty. “It’s just . . . Oh, I wish I could explain properly, Nad,” I whisper.
    “I know,” says Nadine—though she doesn’t. “Look, things are a bit difficult with Liam and me too. We had this sort of row yesterday.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Because I won’t, you know, go the whole way. I just don’t feel ready to. And the magazines say you shouldn’t do it till you
are
ready—look.” She reaches for the magazine and shows me this letter.
    “Bla bla bla, ‘so don’t