“What the fuck?” My sister opens the door and marches in. “You just ruined my audio recording with that outburst!”
“I'm so fucking late!” I yell at her as I stand and pull on my shorts and then can't find my T-shirt on the floor next to them. Just as well, I should probably wear a clean one. I rush to my suitcase which I haven't yet unpacked. I sniff my armpits quickly and while I'm not horrified, I'm still annoyed I can't shower or do my hair or not be the disaster that I am.
“Late for what?” Maeve asks.
I pause. “Doesn't matter,” I say and find a different shirt to the one I was looking for. It will have to do.
“Are you meeting Mrs Robinson?”
“Where are Mum and Dad?”
“On the balcony. Gin o'clock.” She nods at the sunset outside.
Pulling a shirt on, I run to the en-suite bathroom, squeeze a blob of toothpaste on my tongue and push it around my mouth.
“Listen,” I say to Maeve after I spit. “You know how I literally got RSI recording all those videos for you this afternoon? Well, I need to cash in that favour. Right now.”
“Are you meeting her? The older woman?”
I close my eyes and sigh. “Yes, and I'm going to be gone for a while. Can you tell Mum and Dad?”
“You want me to tell them that you're going on a date with a forty-something year old?”
“She's not forty-something. Or she could be. I don't know. And I don't care. Tell them I'm having a drink with someone and-” I pause. “Wait! Tell them I've gone looking for the hotel manager. For a drink. And I'm going to ask him about birthday cakes. Yes, say that. But tell them that I'll not be back for dinner so you can all eat without me.”
“They're not going to believe that.” Maeve crosses her arms over her chest.
“Right now, I don't give a flying fuck. I just want to get down to the beach before the sun goes down.” I race back to the bedside table and shove my phone in my pocket, and as I do, I'm relieved to feel the card of the villa key. One less thing to look for.
“Jesus, you are like a man on a mission,” my sister says as I rush past her towards the door.
“I'm a fucking mess,” I say and rub a hand back and forwards through my hair.
“Yeah, that's not helping at all.” She wrinkles her nose at me.
“Piss off,” I say as I reach for the door. “Oh, wait. I need you to cover for me. I don't mean that. Don’t piss off. You’re great.”
“I'll keep the parents sweet,” she says with a smile that calms me, just for half a second before I race out of the door and start running.
“Fuck!” I call out to nobody when I realise I don’t have shoes on. But I don’t stop, in fact, I sprint a little faster.
It takes no time, not really, maybe just a minute, because I'm running downhill after all, but every second feels like an hour because the sky is changing colour all the time – from a blossoming pink to a glowing copper - and as the pathway winds down around the villas I start to catch glimpses of the sun itself, hanging just above the sea as if it's going to touch any moment now. It's only as I enter the indoor area of the lobby that I realise how ridiculous I look. I'm barefoot, half-awake, out of breath and wide-eyed in panic as I realise how likely it is that she won’t be there.
I really fucking hope she’s still there.
Chapter Fourteen
Jenna
Aquarter of the sun is gone when I see a figure out of the corner of my eye, but I keep my gaze fixed ahead of me.
“Room for a big fat eejit?”
Marty's here. He came.
But he’s late.
“You know what, I’m not sure there is,” I say. My stomach is flipping in a way that doesn’t feel unpleasant, it’s almost wistful. I haven't felt this sort of nervous excitement since I was a child.
