Chapter 10
I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon chilling out with Mum and Dad.
Well, really, I just sat there as Rue told them every single detail of her surf lesson with Antoine.
And it was nice to see her so excited given that she had an operation looming over her.
Maybe it was a little kid thing, or maybe just a Rue thing, but she didn’t dwell on the heavy stuff, and she had more to deal with than any of us.
‘I’m away for a shower,’ I announced. Butterflies fluttered gently in my stomach when I thought about the date with Felix.
I’d never actually been on a proper date with Theo.
We’d just hung out. And more often than not, it was the three of us.
I’d once suggested going for dinner somewhere, just us, and I cringed at the memory of his laugh, which played like a scratched record in my head.
I shook the thought away and had a shower, washing away all the sand and salt that clung to my skin from earlier.
After, I lay on my bed and picked up my phone.
I’d stopped myself from doing it since I’d seen Ella’s Snap, because I knew I would hate whatever it showed me, but I broke.
I went straight to Insta and on to Theo’s account.
His story was a shot of his Xbox with the caption ‘When she says she doesn’t game … then destroys you … .’
And as if the ‘she’ wasn’t enough of a hint, I saw Ari’s black leather cuff on the edge of Theo’s bed.
I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to erase the picture from my head. Instinctively I opened WhatsApp and went to Priya’s messages.
I sent her a picture that I’d taken of the beach earlier. It was beautiful. The endless stretch of the sand, the sparkling water, surfers on white-capped waves.
ME: Remembering our plan to swim across Belfast Lough that never happened … maybe this would have been a better plan.
Priya sent back an image of the outside of the local leisure centre – looking even more run-down than the last time I’d been there – under an overcast sky.
PRIYA: That looks amazing. Not jealous at all. You doing much training?
ME: Training? What’s that?
PRIYA: That doesn’t sound like the Margot I know … knew
ME: Nah. No lanes here. Just waves
PRIYA: Shame. I thought that maybe the old Margot was back.
And that stung. A series of pinpricks in my chest, like my body was making sure I didn’t skim over her words. And I didn’t even know how to reply. But I didn’t have to, because Priya typed something else that made my throat tight.
PRIYA: How’s Theo? Is he there too?
My mind flashed to the Insta story. To Ari’s leather cuff. To the Snap of her straddling him, his hands round her waist, like they’d been doing that forever. Maybe they had. I took a deep breath.
ME: Actually, me and Theo broke up. Well, sort of. Ella sent me a snap of Ari all over him … It’s so embarrassing …:(
PRIYA: Oh Margot, that sucks. I’m sorry. Are you OK?
ME: Yeah. I think so. I’ve kind of been hanging out with this French guy …
PRIYA: Tell me more!
ME: I will, but I’ve got to go get ready, for a date :)
PRIYA: You better report back! Bet it’s more exciting than me and Cal’s date to see the new Marvel …
ME: You always hated Marvel!
PRIYA: Still do. But I love that boy
ME: Cuteness overload. Talk later xxx
I locked my screen and held my phone to my chest for a second, smiling at the exchange with Priya. It felt so good to have her back. Sort of back, anyway. I stood up to look in the mirror.
I leaned towards it and studied my face.
I looked different here. Even though it had just been a couple of days, I didn’t feel like I needed foundation.
The light tan made my blue eyes stand out even more, my hair looked lighter, and the salt air had made my curls look more defined than they ever had.
So I just put on some mascara, some highlighter and my favourite perfume before pulling on a white summer dress that sat high on my thighs and had little spaghetti straps.
I had no idea where we were going, so I grabbed a cardigan to take with me and put on my leather sandals, giving my sliders a break.
‘Are you going somewhere now?’ Dad asked when I emerged from my bedroom. ‘We were going to play some boules tonight, and we could use your expertise.’ Dad raised his eyebrows.
I laughed. I used to love boules, and on holiday when I was Rue’s age we’d play every day with the multicolour boules set that Mum and Dad bought from the supermarket. ‘Sorry, I can’t. I’m going out with a friend,’ I said simply, looking at Mum, who smiled knowingly.
‘What friend?’ Dad looked at Mum, confused.
‘I’ll fill you in,’ she said, patting his hand.
‘Her friend is a boy,’ Rue said, and she burst out laughing.
‘The plot thickens,’ Dad said. ‘In all seriousness, though, be careful, and keep your phone on.’
‘I will.’ I nodded before disappearing out the door and on to the deck.
When I went outside, Wren was sitting at the table with a bottle of Orangina and her iPad. She looked at me in shock from under a pink baseball cap.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked her.
‘You look beautiful,’ she said. Then her cheeks turned pink.
‘Aw, Wren, thank you.’ I smiled, the warmth of her words a plaster over the pinprick scratches.
‘Why is your dress so short? It looks like it would fit Wren,’ Rue said from behind me, laughing. She was standing in the doorway, holding on to the door frame and swinging forward before pulling herself back.
‘It’s not that short.’ I tried to pull it down a bit. I looked at the time on my phone.
‘I need to go,’ I said, sliding my phone into my cardigan pocket. My stomach flipped. I grabbed a piece of pizza from the table to eat while I walked.
The Brasserie was busy when I got there. Families getting ready to eat dinner. I’d finished my slice of pizza, but I was still hungry, and hoped Felix had factored food into our date.
He saw me before I saw him.
‘Margot,’ he called from behind the bar. Delphine was there too, with her usual look of contempt for me. I walked over and Felix finished pouring a drink.
‘Et voilà!’ he said. ‘I am finished. We shall go?’ His smile was wide and open, and he seemed genuinely excited. ‘Just let me get changed,’ he said, and disappeared round the corner of the bar as I stood there with an awkward silence hanging in the air between me and Delphine.
Felix emerged wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
‘Have you ever been on a Vespa before?’ Felix asked as he came over. I shook my head as a rush of excitement rolled through my body.
‘Nope.’
We walked to the car park at the entrance to the campsite and he led me to a silver Vespa in the corner. He handed me a helmet, and I pulled it down over my head.
‘You are OK?’ he asked, looking through the visor at me.
‘I’m OK,’ I replied. Then he put on his own helmet. He stepped on to the Vespa then turned and offered me his hand. I took it. And as I did, any nerves about getting on the back of a Vespa dissolved into the hot air.
‘Hold on to me,’ he said, taking my arms and pulling them round his chest. I clasped my hands together and could feel hard muscle underneath his T-shirt. Heat emanated through the cotton, and there was a rush of pure adrenaline through my veins as he revved the engine.
And we rode. Inland. The air was hot on my legs as he drove fast across rolling hills.
It was breathtaking. We passed rows and rows of grapevines in impossibly straight lines.
I’d always loved the French vineyards. On our holidays when I was younger, I used to look out the car window at the perfect spaces between each of them and feel immediately calmer.
We drove through beautiful little towns that looked like they’d come straight out of another century.
And then we stopped in one of them. Felix parked on the street, pulled off his helmet and helped me off the Vespa.
‘Oh my God,’ I said, exhilarated. ‘That was amazing.’
‘You are hungry?’ he asked.
I nodded as I removed my helmet. ‘Very.’ Felix took my hand, and I let him lead me to a little café on a corner that barely looked open. I sat down at a small table outside, and Felix disappeared indoors, emerging a couple of minutes later with two glass bottles of Coke and a menu.
He sat down beside me and leaned in close as we looked at the menu together.
‘Salade de chèvre chaud, le poulet Basquaise et le Gateau Basque.’ He ran his finger down the French dishes and I leaned into his warm shoulder as I listened. ‘It is a set menu, this is OK?’ He looked at me and I sat up and looked straight back at him.
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘I’m starving. What is le poulet Basquaise? Chicken and …’ I shrugged and waited for him to fill it in.
‘Your accent. It was perfect. Poulet Basquaise is chicken with peppers and tomatoes. And Gateau Basque is les cerises. Cherries!’ Felix smiled. ‘I will order.’
‘Sounds amazing,’ I said.
Felix disappeared into the restaurant.
‘Alors, tell me about you. I want to know more,’ Felix said when he got back. His brown eyes were warm. Interested. ‘You are enjoying Biarritz?’
‘I think so,’ I said. ‘Although I’ve only seen the campsite and the beach so far.’
‘Ah, but there is so much more! I will show you!’ Felix smiled and reached for my hand across the table. And I didn’t pull it away. I let my hand relax into his. ‘You are OK? There is a sadness in your eyes.’
I looked into Felix’s eyes. I thought I’d been doing a good job of hiding the emptiness.
‘My ex-boyfriend is with someone else. Someone I thought was my friend,’ I admitted.
‘I am sorry. That is … hard, non?’
‘Oui.’ I tried to smile, but felt like I might cry. ‘But it’s fine, it wasn’t serious or anything.’ I took my hand back and pulled a curl gently, twisting it round my finger before letting go. Saying the words out loud, it dawned on me: I’d just admitted the truth.
‘But it is still painful?’