“No, he didn’t,” replies Chloe, tapping something into the phone. “And even if he is supposed to be working, he’s the boss, isn’t he? I’m sure he can spare a few hours for two of his oldest friends.”
I open and close my mouth like a confused goldfish, trying to work out what to say to stop her messaging Jamie, who I still can’t think about without remembering the awkward silence that descended last night when Chloe told him I’d come here to see him.
I’m not ready to try to explain that to him yet.
I’m not sure I’lleverbe ready for that particular conversation.
Chloe looks up at me and frowns.
“What’s wrong, Summer?” she says. “You look like a puffer fish with your face like that. You do want to see Jamie again, don’t you?”
Alex raises his eyebrows questioningly at this, as if he’d like to know the answer, too.
“Of… of course I do,” I say feebly. “You don’t mind, Alex, do you?”
“Not at all,” he replies smoothly. “I’d be very interested to meet the famous Jamie, actually. Very interested.”
His voice is loaded with meaning. It’s just a shame that I have no idea what the meaning actuallyis.
Chloe’s phone pings loudly.
“Well, luckily for both of you,” she says triumphantly, “You’re going to get your wish. Jamie says he’d love to come.”
I nod weakly.
“Great,” I say, feigning enthusiasm.
“Great,” repeats Alex, not bothering to feign anything. I get the feeling that feigning things isn’t part of his DNA somehow. “Fantastic,” says Chloe, grinning broadly. “This is going to be just fantastic.”
***
The quad biking place is in the hills above the resort, where there’s a low, single-story building, with a row of brightly colored bikes lined up in front of it. They don’t look anything like motorcycles. I suspect my younger self would be disappointed.
Chloe, Alex, and I get out of the taxi and look around us, taking in the dusty, sun-baked ground, and the lush hills which surround it. Right in front of us there’s a small arena marked out with traffic cones, and just past that, I see a rough track leading off into the hills.
“Is this a bad time to admit I’m not a particularly great driver?” I mutter to Alex as we make our way towards the bikes.
“Why does that not surprise me?” he replies wryly.
I allow myself to relax slightly at the hint of sarcasm in his tone, which is reassuring in its familiarity.
Sarky Alex I can deal with. Nice Alex… well, nice Alex is still an unknown quantity. And something tells me he could be a dangerous one for someone like me, who’s particularly vulnerable to the idea of someone —anyone— being nice to her.
“Chloe! Summer!”
As we reach the building that serves as the office for the quad biking company, I see Jamie come out of the door, his hand raised in welcome. My stomach lurches again. I’ve been so busy thinking about Alex that I’d almost forgotten I’d be seeing Jamie again. But here he is, looking a bit rumpled, as if he might have slept in his clothes.
I wave back, determinedly telling myself I’m excited to see him again, even though my heart is doing its best to tell me otherwise.
Jamie hugs Chloe, then me, before holding his hand out to Alex.
“Hey,” he says easily. “I’m Jamie. You must be Summer’s friend?”
“Alex,” says the man in question shortly. “And no, not really. We just keep bumping into each other.”
He doesn’t smile as he shakes Jamie’s hand.
I guess Moody Alex is back, then. And he’s a Moody Alex who obviously didn’t pick up on the same vibes I did during our conversation on the balcony last night, if his last comment is anything to go by.
