‘Nice to meet ya,’ said Speedy. He had a similar accent to Dylan – London, with a hint of West Country. His eyes lingered a little too long on the open neck of her blouse.

Dylan, as if noticing, pulled her closer to him. ‘Anyway, Speedy just popped in to say hi. He’s off home now. Say hi to Mum for me.’

Speedy grinned in response. ‘Yep, that’s right. I’m going. But I’ll bring your mum next week. It’s been a while since she’s seen you. Think about what I said, though, yeah?’

‘Yeah,’ said Dylan, his jaw set.

‘Great.’ Speedy smirked at Flora, then at Dylan, before turning around and walking off.

Dylan didn’t say anything for a few moments, watching Speedy weave his way through the crowds. It wasn’t until he’d disappeared that Dylan turned to her. ‘Sorry about that. He’s a bit of a prat.’

‘He’s your stepdad?’ Flora said, unable to believe it.

‘Not stepdad. My mum’s boyfriend. It won’t last five minutes. He’s all right, really.’

‘You just said he was a prat.’

Dylan grinned. ‘He’s all right … for a prat. But he’s harmless. And he’s good to Mum.’

Something didn’t feel right but Flora couldn’t put her finger on it. She wasn’t used to boys, but she felt he was hiding something from her.

‘Is he local? I thought you said your mum lived in Swindon.’

He shrugged. ‘She does. And he lives with her. For now. He came to give me this.’ His eyes lit up as he disentangled himself from her and retrieved something from his jeans pocket. Then he held it flat against his palm as though it was diamonds. It looked like a bag of herbs to her.

‘What is it?’

‘Pot.’

She frowned. ‘Pot? As in …’

‘As in weed. Grass. Skunk. Whatever you want to call it.’ He folded his fingers around it and slipped it back into his pocket.

Flora gasped. ‘Shit, Dylan. Drugs.’

‘Sssh,’ he hissed, looking wildly around him as though expecting the police to be lurking at the coconut stall. ‘I was hoping you’d smoke some with me.’

Flora stared at her feet. Drugs. She didn’t even smoke cigarettes. She realized how provincial and out of her depth she really was. Despite the heat, she suddenly felt cold. ‘I don’t know …’

‘I thought you were cool.’ He sounded disappointed. ‘But maybe you’re too young for me, after all.’