Free Johnny's Girl by Paige Toon Page A

shoot along the cable, squealing with laughter as I jerk up into the air at the other end. I look back over at Tom and he’s still standing on the grass, watching me with
amusement.
    ‘You want a turn?’ I call, buoyed by the alcohol as I climb off the contraption.
    He says something to one of his friends and saunters over. By the time he reaches us, I’m back at the wooden platform and Natalie is raising one eyebrow at me. I smirk at her and pray
I’m not blushing.
    ‘Did you win?’ I ask Tom, as he climbs up on to the platform and takes the pulley from me.
    ‘Course,’ he replies. He’s a bit sweaty after the match, but he’s still well fit. ‘Are you sure this thing’s safe?’ he asks.
    ‘Who gives a toss? Live dangerously, right?’
    He grins at me and my heart flutters. Then he’s off.
    ‘Wooooooo!’ he yells, as some of his mates catcall and clap.
    ‘You fancy Tom Ryder,’ Natalie singsongs into my ear, while I eye the muscles on his arms as he clings to the pulley.
    ‘Who doesn’t?’ I reply without missing a beat. He’s the best-looking guy in school.
    Soon all the boys from the football game want to get in on the act and a queue forms, but suddenly I feel a bit sick and dizzy. I gingerly climb down from the platform.
    ‘You were next,’ Tom says to me, taking the pulley from one of his mates. ‘They can wait.’
    ‘No, no, it’s okay.’ I wave him away.
    ‘Are you alright?’ he asks with a frown.
    ‘I’m fine,’ I reply, climbing a little way up the grassy mound next to the zipwire and sitting down. He follows and stands there, looking down at me.
    ‘You don’t look very well.’
    Actually I feel sick. Please go away,
I think. ‘I’ll be okay,’ I say out loud. Too much alcohol, too little food,
way
too much excitement. I put my head in my
hands and try not to throw up.
    ‘Jessie!’
    I glance up to see Aaron and Dougie manically waving at me as they stride across the green. They point at the car park behind me, but I can’t see over the mound I’m sitting on. Tom
looks past me. Before he can say anything, one of the guys waiting for the zipwire shouts: ‘What’s Mr Taylor doing here?’
    I shoot to my feet in an instant and see him, slamming shut the door of his little white hatchback. Mr Taylor. Our Maths teacher.
    Otherwise known as Stuart, my stepdad.
    Shit, shit, shit.
    ‘Better go,’ I mutter, getting up and walking away without looking back. I hear laughter and joking in the distance behind me, and I glance up once to see Stu’s features are
set into a hard line.
    I’m still fighting the urge to throw up as I get into the car, an urge that overcomes me the moment Stuart drives with restrained fury out of the car park.
    ‘Stop!’ I gasp, shoving open the door in time to vomit on the curb.
    He doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t need to. The air is thick with his disappointment...

Want to know what happens when Jessie finds out who her
real
father is? Then look out for
THE ACCIDENTAL LIFE OF JESSIE JEFFERSON
, coming in January 2014. And
follow Paige on Twitter (@PaigeToonAuthor) and Facebook ( www.facebook.com/PaigeToonAuthor ) now, to make sure you don’t miss out on
another exclusive sneak peek… coming soon!

 
     
     
    Coming to you in 2014, a fabulous new novel from Paige Toon
     
    Thirteen Weddings
     
    Last year, Bronte left Sydney for a wedding in England, where she met newly single Alex. After a night of passion they parted ways, and Bronte returned to Australia.
     
    Now working on a picture desk for a magazine in London, Bronte is about to meet her new boss, who turns out to be all too familiar… Awkward at first, as Alex is now
    engaged to the girl he was on a break from when they met, they soon become friends.
     
    Bronte is a wedding photographer in her free time, so Alex enlists her to do his wedding. Unable to refuse, Bronte is stuck with the job. But as the two get closer, and the
    wedding day looms, it is clear that Alex and