Chapter 49
At midnight, karaoke is over. Those who have had enough to drink admit defeat and head to their rooms. Those who intend to drink the bar dry leave in droves towards the nightclub.
‘You want to dance, don’t you?’ Ellis asks. It’s the first time I’ve seen him drunk.
‘Maybe,’ I reply. ‘Though I’m not sure I can stand another terrible playlist.’
‘I’m not sure I can stand. But let’s do it.’
I giggle. ‘You sure? People might see you.’
‘If you can parasail over shark-infested waters, I can dance.’
‘Wait. You said they were dolphins!’
‘All About That Bass’ is playing as we get to the entrance. Ellis looks at me like I’ve forced him to be here against his will.
‘This was your idea,’ I remind him. ‘No backing out now.’
He decides to move on to soft drinks for a while.
While I understand that he doesn’t want to be carried out on a stretcher, I’m enjoying seeing him let his hair down.
Whether he can dance or not is irrelevant.
He’s already one of the coolest people I know.
I continue with my cocktails, convinced that they must be watering them down as I can still feel my feet.
‘Hello, you two!’
It’s Lucas. I thought we’d lost them after the karaoke.
‘How was Mamma Mia!?’
‘Amazing,’ he replies. ‘We had a ball!’
I feel hard done by, given that Hairspray was a disappointment. I should have listened to Naomi and stayed away. Cameron appears with two orange-coloured cocktails. ‘Well, aren’t you the cutest couple,’ he remarks. ‘A real-life Johnny and June, you know, without the singing ability.’
I feel Ellis nudge me when ‘Gasolina’ comes on. Cameron and Lucas hold their drinks up, demanding that we join them on the dance floor. Ellis doesn’t need any encouragement and leads the way.
This is when I find out that he’s been downplaying his ability. While he won’t get four tens on Strictly Come Dancing, the man can dance.
We dance until 2 a.m. when the club winds down. It’s been the best night. Saying goodnight to Lucas and Cameron, Ellis suggests we go back to our spot along the deck.
‘Why would you imply that you were a terrible dancer?’ I ask.
‘I didn’t,’ he replies. ‘Just because I don’t want people watching me doesn’t mean I can’t dance. I can fuck like a champ but that doesn’t mean I want an audience while I’m doing it.’
‘Wow. OK,’ I reply, completely turned on by that admission. I’m dead. He cannot say something like that and not expect to pay for my funeral.
We park ourselves on the bench.
‘You know that guy?’ he says. ‘The one you went on the date with?’
‘Jude?’ I grin. ‘Yeah, what about him? Oh God, do you want to find him? Are you finally ready to pop your pineapple?’
He playfully nudges me. ‘Nope. That’s staying intact. But when I saw you at the pool with him, I got . . . I felt . . . something.’
‘Something?’ I ask. ‘Like what? Nausea? Rage? Arousal? He was pretty cute.’
‘I don’t know,’ he replies. ‘But I felt the same while we were spending time together. When we were singing. Whatever it is, I’m feeling it right now.’
As we lock eyes, I get butterflies. Thousands of them. I don’t look away and neither does he.
‘I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell me.’
‘Like, when I first met you . . . it’s just attraction, right? You’re good-looking. So what? So are a million women. It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s biology. Am I making sense?’
‘Not really.’
‘But then, there you were again . . . and again, and you’re so funny and sharp and you’re still good-looking, maybe even more so. The more time I spend with you . . . the more time I want to spend with you.’
His babbling doesn’t stop my heart beating faster. He lowers his head.
‘I don’t want to be saying this, and I don’t want to be feeling this. But I do. Fuck, Sophie, can you say something? I’m feeling like an idiot here.’
‘Ellis, I—’
‘This is too much, right? Maybe it’s the alcohol. But I can’t stop thinking about you.’
‘Ellis, I feel the same.’
He continues staring at his feet. I want him to look at me.
‘I didn’t plan for this any more than you did,’ I say. ‘But I can’t stop thinking about you either. I—’
Under the black night sky, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me.