Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Collection: The Schemer, The Trap, Payback. Kimberley Chambers

shook her head. ‘No, he ain’t mate. He’s well loved-up with you, and if you can’t see that you gotta be blind.’

      Two hours laters, Stephanie had to admit that her friend’s prediction might be right. Wayne hadn’t taken his eyes off her for the past half-hour and had just asked her to dance as the DJ slowed down the tempo.

      ‘Come on, have a dance with me. I bet Bazza’s out partying with that Sally and I put money on it he’d dance with her if she asked him,’ Wayne said, knowing that Sally was a sore subject. His feelings for Stephanie were far too strong to worry about betraying his childhood pal. He even kept reminding himself that he’d once saved Barry’s life to ease the odd twinge of guilt he occasionally felt.

      Stephanie glanced at Tammy and Danno. They seemed to be getting along famously and Steph was pleased for her friend as she rarely had any luck with boys. She turned back to Wayne. ‘Look at me, I look a right state in these jeans. I didn’t realize everyone would be done up to the nines. I can’t get up and dance like this.’

      Wayne stared intently into Steph’s eyes. ‘Yes, you can. You look beautiful, and jeans or no jeans, you still knock spots off any girl in here.’

      Stephanie averted her eyes from Wayne’s. She felt lightheaded and extremely confused. Even though she had been arguing with Barry lately, she was sure she still loved him, but she also knew she had started to develop feelings for Wayne. When the DJ played Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, Steph allowed Wayne to lead her onto the makeshift dance floor. When he wrapped his hands around her waist and then lowered them to her buttocks, Steph didn’t push him away. Instead she responded by nestling her head into his sweet-smelling neck, which reeked of aftershave. In a strange way, being this close to Wayne kind of reminded her of what she’d had with Barry.

      ‘When the slow dances stop, shall we go outside for a bit?’ Wayne whispered in Stephanie’s ear.

      Whether it was the amount of alcohol she had consumed or just lust taking over, Stephanie didn’t know, but she found herself agreeing. As their lips met for the very first time, Stephanie had no idea that she was being watched by an extremely interested spectator.

      Barry’s sister Chantelle had never been in the Church Elm pub before and she was absolutely livid at the scene that had just unfolded in front of her. ‘Fucking slag, I’m gonna glass her and that cunting Jacko,’ Chantelle screamed, as she slurped the rest of her Bacardi and lemonade and made to dart towards the door with the empty glass held above her head.

      Ajay, Chantelle’s boyfriend, quickly grabbed hold of his heavily pregnant other half and dragged her over to the corner of the pub. ‘Don’t fucking start, Chantelle. I only just got out the slammer and I’m still on probation, you stupid bitch.’

      ‘But that’s Barry’s girlfriend and his best mate getting off with one another. It ain’t fucking right! My brother’s been in bits over that no-good slag,’ Chantelle yelled.

      Ajay pointed a stern finger into Chantelle’s face. ‘You keep out of it, understand? I got all types of shit on me and if it kicks off and I get searched, you’ll be bringing up our baby on your own.’

      Chantelle knew when to shut up. Ajay had always been a bit handy with his fists and she didn’t fancy feeling the brunt of his temper this evening. ‘I’m gonna have to ring Barry in Spain tomorrow and tell him. Will you back me up in case he don’t believe me?’

      Ajay actually quite liked Barry and had no intention of letting him be made a fool of by some unfaithful whore. Grabbing hold of Chantelle’s ever-expanding arse, Ajay squeezed it and treated her to a toothy grin. ‘We’ll ring Bazza first thing in the morning, and we’ll tell him together, OK?’

      Stephanie Crouch had never envisaged losing her virginity while standing against a wall in a dingy, dark alleyway in Dagenham Heathway, but that was exactly how it happened.

      ‘You’re fucking beautiful, Steph. I’ve wanted to do this for ages,’ Wayne panted, as he put his hands around Stephanie’s buttocks and urged her to put her legs around his waist.

      Not used to drinking pints of cider, Stephanie felt drunk – very drunk, in fact. She had also had a couple of puffs on a spliff that Wayne had given her, and her body didn’t feel like it belonged to her any more. She felt as though she was floating in the air, not standing up.

      Wayne made lots of grunting noises, then withdrew his penis from Steph’s vagina. ‘That was wicked,’ he said, as he took off his condom and threw it over somebody’s back garden.

      ‘Where’s me knickers? I can’t find ’em,’ Steph said, frantically looking around on her hands and knees.

      Rummaging around on the ground, Wayne found Stephanie’s knickers, then helped her put her jeans back on. ‘Who was better, me or Bazza?’ he asked, bluntly.

      Stephanie was confused. ‘What you on about?’

      ‘You know? Who was the best shag?’

      ‘I didn’t do anything with Barry. We never got that far,’ Steph replied, honestly.

      ‘Bazza told me you’d done it with him loads of times. He’s such a fucking liar,’ Wayne said, laughing.

      ‘I’ve never done it with anyone before. That was my first time.’

      Feeling like the cat that had just got the biggest plate of cream ever, Wayne put an arm around Stephanie’s waist. ‘You’re my girl now. ‘

      Feeling woozy and extremely light-headed, Stephanie stared at Wayne vacantly, then promptly threw up all over his new Kicker boots.

      The following morning, the realization of what she had done hit Stephanie like a ton of bricks as soon as she opened her eyes. She immediately fished around her neck for her gold heart pendant and held it tightly in her right hand.

      ‘What’s a matter? Mum said you were well drunk when you came home last night. She was proper going into one when I came in, and she reckons you ain’t allowed out for a month,’ Angela informed her sister.

      Steph pulled the quilt over her head and burst into tears.

      ‘Don’t cry. She probably don’t mean it. You know what Mum’s like, she says these things and never carries out her threat,’ Angela said, sitting on the edge of her sister’s bed.

      ‘I hope she does mean it, ’cause I don’t ever wanna go out again,’ Stephanie wept.

      Angela pulled the quilt from over her sister’s head. ‘What you done? Has something bad happened?’

      Desperate for somebody to comfort her, Stephanie threw herself into her sister’s arms. ‘I’ve done something really bad, Ange.’

      Many miles away, Barry Franklin felt physically sick as he listened to what his sister had to say. ‘Are you sure they were getting hold of one another? Perhaps Steph was just drunk and upset and Jacko was comforting her?’ Barry said, not wanting to believe the awful truth.

      ‘Of course I’m sure they were getting hold of one another. Steph had her tongue stuck down Jacko’s throat in the pub, then I made Ajay follow them outside. He saw them at it in an alleyway, Bal. That girl’s a stinking old whore and if you don’t believe me, speak to Ajay yourself. He’s standing here right next to me,’ Chantelle explained.

      Barry’s eyes filled up with tears of humiliation and, unable to listen to any more of what his sister had to say, he cut her off.

      ‘What’s up with you? You soppy little fucker,’ Marlene asked brutally, as she strolled into the lounge.

      ‘Chantelle just rang up. She went out for a drink last night and saw Jacko and Steph together. They were fucking getting hold of one another,’ Barry yelled.

      Instead of comforting her distraught son like most mothers would, Marlene burst out laughing. ‘Oh well, best I take me wedding outfit back to the shop. Told you that little slag wouldn’t