My pulse did a little jump when I saw him. I remembered our interaction outside his house when he offered to walk me to school. Did he fancy me, or was he just trying to be nice? It was hard to tell.
“Estella, hey!” he said, a little breathless when he spotted me. His dog came barrelling out of the water, jumping at him and getting Kean’s fancy tracksuit all wet. He chuckled, not seeming too bothered.
“Down boy,” he said, gazing affectionately at his pet. I felt a momentary flash of jealousy at the innocent love between boy and dog. I hadn’t had a pet in a long time. Not since Dad married Vee. She claimed to be allergic to both dogs and cats, but I suspected she just didn’t want me to have anything in my life that might love me.
“Hi,” I said with a small smile. “Your dog’s very excited.”
“He loves the water. Every time I open the back door he comes running down here. I swear, chasing after him is the only thing that keeps me fit.”
“Don’t you play sports though?” I asked, well aware that Kean was a member of the local rugby team.
He grinned. “Well, yeah, there’s that, too.” He gestured to the space beside me. “Mind if I sit?”
“No, go ahead,” I replied.
He sat, and I caught a faint waft of his cologne. It smelled spicy, expensive, just like his clothes. I wondered what it must be like to have a such a successful, wealthy father. Whenever you needed something, there was no need to save. You just went out and bought it.
“So, what are you doing sitting out here all by yourself?” Kean asked.
I glanced at him, my eyes tracing his features. He was one of those boys with full lips, much fuller than mine, and I was a girl. “Just hiding from my wicked stepmother,” I answered honestly, and his eyebrows jumped.
“Are you being dramatic, or is she really wicked?”
“A little of both, maybe,” I answered with a grin.
Some of his concern drifted away, but his frown remained. “You two don’t get along?”
I sighed and ran my fingers through the sand. “It’s hard to get along with someone who resents the very air you breathe.”
“Wow, those are strong words.”
“Sorry, I’m being morose. You should go play with your dog. It’ll be a lot more fun than sitting here talking to me.”
“Hey, I’m having lots of fun,” Kean protested. I arched an eyebrow. He chuckled. “Okay, maybe fun isn’t the right word. But this is nice. We live on the same street, but we’ve never had a chance to get to know each other properly. Plus, I rarely come out here and just sit.”
“I love watching the boats,” I said, gesturing to the fishing boat that had almost disappeared over the horizon.
“You do?”
I nodded. “It’s meditative.”
Kean’s gaze went out to the sea. “I hadn’t really thought to look at the boats before. Too busy with my eyes glued to my phone.”
“I don’t have that problem since I don’t have a phone.”
He looked surprised. “Seriously?”
“WS won’t buy me one.” Right after I said it, I remembered the money Noah gave me and realised I could use it to buy a phone. I wouldn’t waste it by splashing out on an expensive one, but a cheap phone would still be amazing. I could go on the internet. Search for things whenever I pleased.
I watched Kean as he mouthed the letters WS to himself. A second later, he smiled. “WS. Wicked Stepmother. Good one.”
“Speaking of, is your dad going to attend her birthday party this weekend?”
“Oh yeah, I think I heard him telling Mam they were invited to a party on Saturday.” A pause as he smiled his dashing smile. “My folks love a good shindig.”
Anxiety built inside me at the thought of people showing up for a party whose main guest refused to show her face. Or maybe Noah would somehow manage to convince Vee to celebrate the occasion. Stranger things had happened.
Kean nudged me with his shoulder. “If you want to escape your WS’s birthday party, a couple of us are going to the castle tomorrow night. There’ll be music and booze.”
I stared at him. “You’re inviting me?”
“Sure, you can bring that friend of yours, too. The one with the freckles.”
“Aoife?”
“Yeah. She seems nice. Whenever I see you two, you’re always laughing and joking.”
Whenever he sees us? I remembered how Kean and some of the community school lads would hang around outside the convent after school. He must’ve spotted me walking home through the gates with Aoife. The idea of him noticing me sent a flutter through my belly.
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” I said, then paused, eyeing him. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“I was just wondering why you and your friends stand outside the convent and catcall at the girls?”