The music switched to theGreasemega mix and my fingers automatically started clicking. Leo and Zach joined in, but were weirdly awkward, jerking out of time and missing the beat, while I pointed around the room to ‘Greased Lightning’. Leo did a couple of robotic moves, then watched me for a second, clearly bemused. Maybe he didn’t know the dance. Surely he did? Everyone did. He tapped his headset changing it from blue to green then mirrored my movements, throwing himself into the pointing while Zach moonwalked off to the bar. I nodded encouragingly, trying to show him the next move each time so he could join in, and laughed as he jumped on the spot for the speed-clapping finale. And I thoughtIwas high energy. The moon grinned overhead as the song reached itsSummer Ni-hiiiightscrescendo and Leo pulled the straw out of his Tequila Sunrise and pointed it up at the stars. Clearly a move he’d done before as he stood still for dramatic effect. I looked up at him lovingly,à laSandra Dee, to stay in character.We were both panting from the effort of the performance as I slipped off my headphones to take a breather and Leo grabbed the champagne to refill my glass.
‘Thanks,’ I said, out of breath.
‘Courtesy of Excalibur Cruises,’ he replied.
‘I mean for pouring. It’s nice to be looked after for once.’
‘That’ll be my rigorous client service training,’ he said with a wink. ‘Keep everyone topped up – that’s what my old boss used to say. In every possible way. Tea, drinks, laughs. Marketable PR insights…’
‘Wow, he sounds fun.’
‘Massive extrovert with a massive brain.’
‘Much like myself then – thanks for the tip.’
He laughed. ‘Or it could just be my natural Northern hospitality gene.’
‘I thought you were from Chelsea?’
‘Haha, I wish. I live in Chelsea now – or close enough, at least. No, I’m a born and bred Mancunian.’
‘Are you?’ This guy was full of surprises. Every time I thought I’d got the measure of him, he threw his cards in the air again and told me something new. ‘They say the Mancs are the friendliest people in the UK.’
‘I like to think so. Friendly, charming, hilarious…’
‘Let’s not push it.’
‘And excellent hosts,’ he said, with another wink, pouring the remaining champagne into an empty glass. ‘Speaking of which, my soon-to-be client seems to be without a drink.’
Leo marched off towards Brooke as Zach returned with a freshly poured pint and sat down. ‘Was that a hot new take?’
‘Was what?’
‘That dance you were doing. A hot new take on “Thriller”.’ He flicked his fringe, pulling a blond curl out of his eyes. ‘I don’t remember there being so much thrusting.’
‘Why would I be dancing to “Thriller”? It was fromGrease?’
Zach pointed around the pool at the silent dancers, moving around like confused woodlice. ‘Different colours for different decades. Seventies green, eighties blue and nineties red. Me and Leo were in the zombie graveyard.’
‘Oh,’ I said, looking down at my luminous green neck. Leo was laughing with Brooke, probably at my overenthusiastic teaching style, and I cringed. Of course he bloody knew ‘Greased Lightning’. He just couldn’t hear it. He’d switched from his own song to dance with me.
‘Nice of Leo to play along,’ I mumbled. Zach raised his eyebrows and took a mouthful of his pint. ‘Is he a big John Travolta fan?’
‘Not that I know of.’
‘Hey, you two!’ Heidi launched herself on us out of nowhere. ‘Isn’t this brilliant?’
‘No,’ Zach replied.
‘Oh, come on, Elfie – live a little. You used to be fun.’ She grabbed his cheeks and squidged them together, nearly losing her balance.
Elfie?
‘I’m still fun, don’t worry about that,’ he said, with a smile. ‘Depending on who I’m with.’
‘Is Elfie a code name?’ I asked, too curious not to, and Heidi snorted with laughter.
‘It’s because of his ears,’ she shrieked, pulling them out from under his hair. ‘Elfie Evans we used to call him. See how pointy they are?’
