“Nice to meet you, Rona.”
She finally looked at me, taking in the sheet, and met my eyes. “Nice to meet you too, Vicky’s famous footballer friend.”
Her eyes were interesting and kind, like they held hidden depths. They drew me in, arresting me from opening my mouth again. And they were very pretty, possibly dark blue, but I couldn’t tell as her pupils were so dilated.
“I’ve been down at the festival and I came back to get changed and do my hair last-minute-dot-com-style. I’mplaying tonight. I also forgot my phone. I’m running late. It’s chaos to be honest. Um but yeah, I’ve been using my straighteners in your room because the mirror in your room has better light by the window. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d arrived and were in there.”
“It’s okay. I got here a bit early.” My voice came out a bit weird because my throat had tightened up. “Plus, I like to put it all out there when I meet new people.”
She laughed, nervously. “Right.”
I gripped the sheet around my chest a bit tighter. “Do you need to get them?” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder back into the room.
“Yeah, sorry, do you mind?”
“Not at all.”
Rona crossed the room, clocking my clothes and underwear on the floor, before looking away subtly. She was slightly shorter than me, on the skinny side, and had medium length brown hair which fell just above her shoulders. She moved with a kind of delicate grace as she bent over to unplug her thing. I watched her as she fiddled with the wire. She was wearing sliders, light denim shorts that made her ass look great, and a tank top. I couldn’t make out what her many tattoos were. I tried not to stare.
“These are lifesavers.” She wiggled her straighteners in the air. “My hair gets so frizzy. I was worried my hair was going to look a mess for tonight, so I dashed back here to fix it and change my outfit.”
Her hair looked perfect to me. “You can still do your hair in my room if you want. I can take a shower.”
“Oh really? That would be great, thanks.” She smiled, more composed now.
We held eyes for a second longer than necessary. I didn’t want to look away. My heart beat a little faster. I felt verynaked under the ill-fitting sheet around my chest, but I also kind of liked it.
“Should I step out to let you…”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll just grab a towel and get my stuff.”
“It’s cool you’re joining us for the holiday by the way. Vicky has talked about you a lot over the years.”
“Oh God, has she? Well I’m stoked to be here with you guys. This place is so beautiful. If alittlehot.”
“The heat’s a bloody nightmare. Nighttime’s are a struggle. I’ve been sleeping naked.”
I immediately pictured her naked while continuing to look at her, trying to keep my cool. Her mouth was perfect and I couldn’t take my eyes off her interesting face. She seemed intelligent and cultured. Like someone I could learn things from.
She laughed softly, gently smiling. “I feel like a typical Brit abroad complaining about the weather.”
“No, not at all. We all do it. It’s either too hot or too cold. We’re never happy. It’s our national obsession, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “Very true.”
I loved the sound of her laugh, smooth like silk.
“Will we see you down at the festival tonight?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. I can’t wait to see you play. I bet people love you and have come here just to see you.”
“If they knew how nervous I was about playing in front of a crowd they might not feel that way. But anyway, there’s me oversharing again. Feel free to come behind the decks at some point.”
I loved an overshare. She had nothing to worry about there. I wondered why she was so nervous for someone who must have performed many times. “Awesome! I’d love to. You know I’ve never been to a sapphic festival before.”
“What better way to start than on Lesvos.”
“That’s what I was thinking. It’s a shame this is the last day of it though.”
