The Spa Break

Chapter 13

One of my greatest achievements in life is being able to wrap a towel around my wet hair in a perfect twist. I step out of my shower – I went for mood: romantic – and fold my hair up to let it dry. I slip my hotel robe and slippers on, deciding that a coffee is needed before we head down to lunch.

I can’t believe it’s Monday lunchtime already. It feels like so much has happened in the space of a few days. Sadly I have not yet mastered the coffee machine. So many little buttons to press, I think, stabbing at them and achieving nothing other than knocking it off its little plinth, so it’s now slightly wonky.

A knock at the front door interrupts me and, with the girls still getting ready in their rooms, I abandon hopes of a beverage and pad over to open it.

Luke leans against the doorframe.

‘Well,’ he says, steel-grey eyes taking me in. ‘Today is my lucky day.’

‘Hey.’ I smile, delighted to see him. ‘How so?’

‘You answered the door.’

‘So I did,’ I reply, remembering my memo to self about flirting. ‘Funny that, given that it’s my door you’re knocking on.’

‘So it is,’ he says, eyes twinkling. ‘I could have been stuck with my sister though. And yet here you stand, all adorable in your towelling robe.’

‘I’m catching you up,’ I say, patting the towel twisted high on my head. ‘See? I’m almost as tall as you now.’

Luke steps in through the doorway, closing the gap between us. He towers over me, so close I can smell him.

‘Absolutely. Just a few more feet to go,’ he teases.

‘I’m not that small!’ I laugh.

‘The perfect size, I’d say.’ He’s practically smouldering now, that deep Northern accent of his driving me slightly crazy.

‘You arrived just in time,’ I tell him.

‘I did?’

‘I was just giving the coffee machine a piece of my mind.’

His lips twitch. ‘Oh dear. You want some help?’

‘Yes, please,’ I reply, my heart pounding as he follows me over to the desk where the kettle and mini fridge are. I watch as he grabs a couple of coffee pods from a selection box next to the machine.

‘Mind if I make one for both of us?’ he asks.

‘Please do. Though I’m pretty sure it’s broken.’

‘Are you always a coffee person?’ Luke asks.

‘Always! Coffee in the morning is basically the law.’

‘Well, we wouldn’t want to break any laws then, would we?’

The way he’s looking at me right now.

‘Absolutely not.’ I shake my head. ‘I’m definitely not much of a rule breaker.’

‘That’s what Stella said, too.’

‘Wait, you spoke to Stella about me?’

‘Of course.’ He shrugs, like this is no big deal. ‘She said you were the one keeping her and Em in line at uni. Which is odd,’ he says, turning to give me his whole attention, ‘because you look like you could be trouble to me.’

‘That’s funny,’ I say, my insides flipping, ‘because I have had exactly the same thought about you.’

‘I’m actually pretty well behaved.’ He’s smouldering at me now. ‘Years of tennis training mean I’m very good at doing what I’m told. I mean, here I am, rescuing you from a day without caffeine, for a start.’

‘Well, let’s not get too big for our boots,’ I counter. ‘You haven’t actually fixed the coffee machine yet and like I said, I’m pretty sure it’s faulty.’

Luke takes one look at the machine and then turns back to me, taking another step closer.

I hold my breath. Is he going to kiss me right here in the living room?

What madness is this?

Luke reaches past me, brushing ever so lightly against my body as he does so. I hear a switch flick.

‘I think I’ve figured it out.’ He grins. ‘Sometimes these things do need turning on.’

Now he looks quite pleased with himself and I am more turned on than the coffee machine will ever be.

‘Ah.’ I bite my lip.

‘So,’ he says, dropping his voice a notch, ‘shall I get on with these drinks or is there any chance of us breaking a few rules?’

‘Sounds like Stella’s already told you I’m not one for rule-breaking.’

‘Okay,’ Luke concedes with a grin. ‘And for reference, next time you just need to turn the machine on.’

I’m trying very hard to look affronted but it’s not working. There’s a huge smile on my face and my cheeks are flushed.

‘All right, genius. I’m still so relaxed from that massage, so sue me.’

‘Building a case against you already.’ Luke hands me an espresso and makes a tiny cup for himself. With his massive build the cup seems almost non-existent.

‘What, you’re taking me to court now?’ I laugh.

‘Crimes against coffee machines,’ he says solemnly.

‘Well, good luck with that,’ I retort. ‘Juries love me.’

Luke laughs hard at this.

‘Knew you were trouble,’ he says. ‘Which actually works perfectly for what I have in mind for us later.’

Us? Later? I’m basically breathless.

He scratches his head, then, suddenly looking both hopeful and shy at the same time. ‘I was wondering if you fancied spending some time together, just me and you?’

Scream!

‘I’d like that,’ I say, trying to keep my smile from giving away quite how much I’d like that. Don’t want to seem over-keen; after all, aren’t there rules about that? I realise I have zero clue how to handle this situation. ‘But, you know, given how much trouble you think I am, you’ll probably have your hands full.’

Luke shoots up both eyebrows at this. Clears his throat.

‘Lucky me,’ he manages. His eyes seek out mine again. Looks at me like he’s hungry.

‘So, what did you have in mind?’

‘Midnight swim?’ he suggests. ‘At the outdoor pool. We’re not strictly meant to use the pool out of hours but I am kind of in charge around here so …’

I take a sip of my drink, giddy at the thought of this. Then I smile back at him. ‘I’ll see you there.’

‘All right, dickhead, you’re here early,’ Stella says, walking out of her bedroom in running clothes to find us in the living room. I spin around and fidget with the coffee machine, which is no doubt extremely suspicious.

‘Thought I’d get some stretching done first,’ Luke says to his sister. ‘But when I got here Jess was having some trouble with the coffee machine.’ He flashes me the briefest smile.

‘Oh Jess,’ Stella says sympathetically. ‘Did you forget to turn it on?’

‘All turned on now,’ I puff, and although I’m looking at the machine, I hear Luke’s delighted laugh.

To say that Stella and Luke are competitive would be an understatement. They’re off for a run together but since Luke announced that he was going to do some stretching, Stella decided that she was too. And now there’s a sense of one-upmanship running through their stretching routine.

Luke’s doing lunges and YES, you can imagine how great that is for my eyeballs and me.

But now Stella’s doing them too.

‘Little bro, can’t you go deeper than that? Look at this,’ she says, flinging herself into a lunge.

‘I struggle with my quads,’ Luke says, looking actually quite put-out that Stella’s better than him at something. ‘It’s a tennis thing.’

‘Oops, touched a nerve. How about we do planks?’

‘Easy,’ says Luke, dropping into a plank that I would like to lie on top of. I’ve settled myself onto the sofa to watch because, why not. The siblings don’t seem to mind.

Stella arranges herself into a forearm plank next to him. ‘Jess, time us!’ she says. ‘See who can last the longest.’

‘Does it really matter?’ I suggest. ‘It’s the taking part that—’

‘YES,’ they both shout.

So I time them. Stella’s brows are furrowed in concentration, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. Luke’s arm muscles are flexing hard and I cannot wait to get into the pool with him later. A midnight swim sounds unbelievably sexy. To think just a few days ago I was fantasising about getting in the pool with him and now it’s actually going to happen. Me and Hot Swimmer, I think, drifting off into my own private fantasy.

‘Jess?’

‘Earth to Jess!’ Stella shouts, interrupting my daydream. ‘Did you time us or what?’

‘Huh?’ I blink.

‘The plank off, Jessica.’ Stella tuts, like it’s the most important thing in the world right now. Oops. I turn to look at the timer, which is still running even though Stella and Luke are now standing in front of me, hands on hips, very much no longer planking.

‘Erm, sorry guys,’ I begin. ‘I got distracted.’

‘You’re weird today,’ Stella says. ‘We’ll just have to go again. This time, Jess, we’ll need you to focus.’

‘We don’t need to go again, I clearly won that last one,’ argues Luke.

‘No you did not. You got up before me.’

‘You’d lost your form! Your hips had dropped. That’s not a plank. I won.’

‘Did not!’

‘Yes, I did,’ insists Luke.

‘Did not.’

Luke sighs. ‘Fine, we’ll go again. Prepare to lose twice.’

Eventually, they stop squabbling and make to head out, which I’m thrilled about because it’s been exhausting just watching them. Boundless energy is clearly another genetic similarity.

‘Sure you don’t want to come?’ Stella asks.

‘Christ no! I mean, thanks, but no.’

‘Last one out buys the next round,’ she shouts at Luke, running towards the door. He scrambles after her, the two of them still bickering as they set off on the run.

‘Well, well, well.’ Em jumps out from her bedroom as soon as the front door slams shut. ‘A midnight swim, hey? That escalated quickly.’

‘What?’ I squawk. ‘Were you listening the whole time?’

‘Yup.’ Em shrugs, like that is perfectly normal behaviour. ‘Took a front row seat to your first day of full-on flirting and I must say, Jessie, I’m impressed. This is a whole new side to you!’

‘Well, obviously I’m very cross at you for eavesdropping but also, thanks, I guess?’

‘You’re welcome. So, you know what I’m thinking, don’t you?’

‘Is it something to do with auras? Or are you currently in communicado with the crystals?’

‘In communicado,’ snorts Em. ‘Honestly, Jess. Naturally I am thinking about what you’re going to wear on this sexy date of yours.’

‘I figured my swimming costume might be best? Given that it’s, you know, happening in the pool?’

Em tuts at me. ‘No, no, no. That dreary old black thing will not do. You and I, my friend, are going to the hotel shop. Come on!’

For a start, I did not know that the hotel has a shop, but it does make sense given that Stella has been wearing a never-before-seen outfit every single night to dinner. It’s so pretty in here. Beautiful fabrics and stunning summery clothes line the rails. A whole wall filled with swimwear options and those large brimmed hats that must be a nightmare to pack.

‘Oh yes, babes,’ coos Emerald, holding out a couple of pieces of string.

‘Absolutely not.’ I shake my head.

Then she pulls out a sheer triangle bikini.

‘I might as well just be naked!’ I squeal.

‘Exactly.’ She beams. ‘Luke will have a heart attack.’

‘I’m not sure that’s quite what I want to happen?’

‘Okay, leave it to me,’ she says, shoving me into a changing room. ‘You strip, I’ll feed options through. You do not have the power to veto.’

‘But—’

‘No power to veto,’ she barks.

Soon there’s a pile of swimmers hanging in my cubicle and I’m dutifully working my way through them. I can’t say I’ve given swimwear much thought before. Otis never wanted to travel abroad because of ‘the heat’ and, of course, the sand, and my journalist’s salary hasn’t exactly afforded me many opportunities to prance around pools, anyway. There’s not much call for sexy swimwear at the municipal pool in Carpston where I go to get some lengths in – I arrive wearing a supportive supermarket costume and leave with the threat of verrucas.

‘How are we doing?’ Em asks in a tone which means Can you hurry up and put something on? I pull back the curtain in a very skimpy red number which I’m pretty sure I haven’t tied up right.

‘It’s giving Baywatch ,’ Em says approvingly. ‘But I think we could do better on the colour. Your dark hair and green eyes are crying out for something green, or maybe a rich blue, or … Oh, try this!’

‘Are you going to exit my cubicle before I do?’

‘Such a prude.’ She tuts. ‘Bodies are just bodies, babes.’

I pointedly draw the curtain and then slip into the cornflower blue bikini she just handed me. It definitely feels like my boobs are supported which is a good start. I slide back the curtain.

‘Ladies and gents, we have a winner!’ Em cheers. ‘Sweet mother of mercy, your boobs look incredible. And that waist! Oh boy. Can I come along tonight? Hide in the bushes? I’m dying to see Luke’s reaction to you looking so beautiful, so sexy in this.’

‘Absolutely not! Stop being a weirdo, Em.’

Em sighs. ‘Fine. But when you get back later, I want every detail.’

‘Promise,’ I say, heading back in to get dressed. Only then do I look at the price tag. Only then do I have a small heart attack re the cost of these few pieces of blue fabric. Surely I can’t … I mean, financially it does not make sense. I should be putting every spare penny into my house fund, right? Because that’s the plan.

Only, now that I think about it, the plan kind of changed before I even got here. To the point where I don’t seem to have much of a plan anymore. I take one last look in the mirror, and for the first time in a long time I like what I see. I look happy. And my boobs do look pretty good!

I buy the bikini.

Midnight can’t come soon enough and infuriatingly, midnight is still so very far away. The seconds plod by and I spend the rest of the day in a state of sexy turmoil. I half-heartedly nibble my way through lunch. I do a yoga class with the girls and try very hard to empty my mind as instructed but I cannot shake Luke from my thoughts.

‘Jessica Jones, what is wrong with you?’ Stella eventually asks over dinner. Still four hours to go. ‘You’ve been weird all day. Is everything okay?’

Startled, I shoot Em a look over the dinner table. We’re back in the restaurant, making our way through the menu.

‘I’m fine!’ I squeak. ‘Just a little, erm, distracted.’

‘Come on, Stell, Jessie’s always been a bit of an odd-bod,’ Em chips in helpfully.

Stella gives her a look that acknowledges this as fact. I try not to pout.

‘Yes, but you’ve been ignoring calls again today,’ Stella points out.

This is true. Bryan’s been calling me non-stop and I’ve been taking the very immature approach of not picking up. I know I’ll have to face up to work soon, but I just don’t want to. Although, as I look at Stella’s concerned face now, I realise this could be the perfect time to offload some of that stuff and deflect from the fact that I’m counting down the minutes to go swimming with my best friend’s hot little brother later, which is an entire other can of worms.

‘Is something up with work?’ Stella presses, dog plus bone. ‘Because I’ve actually been seriously impressed that you haven’t been taking calls on this trip, Jess. Can’t remember the last time we hung out when you weren’t checking the website, or scrolling emails at the weekend. I’m literally the worst for this so I can’t really pass judgement, but I do think it’s important to take a break from work. This is your holiday, after all, and you don’t take many of them. So, well done, you, for ignoring bloody Bryan.’

‘Yes!’ Em says. ‘He sounds so useless. Surely there’s someone else in the office who can put up with his crap while you’re on holiday.’

Right, well, here goes!

‘I’m actually not on holiday,’ I say tentatively.

Stella and Em exchange looks.

‘Okaaaaaaay,’ says Stella cautiously, like she’s trying to communicate with a wild animal. ‘So where do you think you are, Jessie?’

‘Oh babes,’ sighs Em. ‘Did you spend too long in downward dog earlier? That shit can really go to your head after a while.’

‘Guys,’ I giggle, ‘I’m fine, I promise. I mean that I’m not technically on holiday because, well, I quit my job!’

‘WTF?’ Em shouts.

‘WHAT THE—’

‘Yup!’ I beam. ‘I am currently unemployed or, as the cool kids call it, funemployed.’

‘The cool kids do not call it that,’ Em butts in. ‘Continue.’

‘Right, so I totally quit my job, like a crazy maniac, literally the day before we came to Gurnard Cove.’

And suddenly it all comes tumbling out, like a pressure valve finally released, and it feels so good to talk about this with the women I trust most in the world.

‘You know how super annoying Arjun was, right?’ I’m saying. ‘I tried so hard to encourage him and he literally did no work. Well, I went on this training course for digital editors recently, which meant I was out of the office for a few days, and when I got back, Arjun and Bryan had suddenly become best mates. Like, Arjun was calling him Big Bry and everything.’

‘Ew,’ says Em.

I nod. ‘I never reached nickname levels with my boss and I’d been working on that paper for years. It turned out that while I was away, Arjun had secured himself a promotion and a pay rise, and that he was now my boss. I’d only been gone for a few days and suddenly that hamster-loving slacker was going to be head of content?’

I pause, take a breath. Probs shouldn’t be so rude about Arjun, really.

My friends are agog.

‘You deserved that job title,’ Stella says.

‘That’s what I thought! But I’d been leapfrogged by a teenager who’d been working at the paper for less than a year. It didn’t seem fair, or right, and I was so stunned, not to mention really upset, and do you know how I found out? Bryan emailed me. He didn’t even have the decency to tell me face to face, so he cc-d me into a formal email confirming Arjun’s promotion.’

‘NO!’ gasps Em.

‘That was also my reaction!’ I say. ‘This is going to sound silly, but that wasn’t even the final straw. After all my hard work for that paper, basically carrying the entire news team and doing all the digital work on my own, and now this, and I still didn’t consider leaving the job.’

‘So … what happened?’ Em probes.

‘Arjun replied to the email, asking Bryan to confirm that he would also have a new wardrobe budget because he’d be doing a lot more on camera for the Courier ’s TikTok going forward. And Bryan said yes! It was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. A promotion and a wardrobe budget? I was so cross, so sick of being undervalued, so completely exhausted with it all.’

I pause to look at my best friends. They’re holding hands above the table, their faces lit up like the Eiffel Tower.

‘We’re going to need more wine,’ Stella tells a passing waiter.

‘Yes, Jessica. YES!’

‘May I just say that I love the fact that it was the wardrobe budget that tipped you over the edge,’ guffaws Stella. ‘Classic. I’d have been the same, Jess.’

‘So what did you do next?’ Em asks.

‘Firstly, I went and had a meltdown in the conference room. Shut the door, closed all the blinds and screamed.’

‘This is so dramatic,’ whispers Em.

‘I know! I’ve never been so cross. I kicked an old fax machine and everything, but then I felt so bad and tried to fix it, which I obviously couldn’t because—’

‘You’re useless with machinery?’ offers Stella. Em nudges her with an elbow.

‘Because I’ve never used a fax machine,’ I say. ‘And then, once the red-hot rage had cooled down a little, I straightened myself up and walked back into the newsroom, with literally everyone watching, and into Bryan’s office.’

‘And?’ Stella’s gripped.

‘And I told him what I thought of him,’ I say, wincing slightly at the memory. ‘I did not hold back. I told him I’d been undervalued and treated with no respect. The more I talked, the more his three chins wobbled with the shock of it all. He was so surprised he couldn’t speak. Once I’d finished, I told him that I was leaving my role with immediate effect, marched back to my desk, packed up my stuff and left.’

‘Holy shit,’ says Em.

‘Jesus, Jess.’

‘Did you get one of those sturdy brown boxes to put your pot plant in like you see in the movies?’

‘Sadly not. I stuffed everything into a couple of sad-looking bags for life,’ I reply, watching my friends’ shocked reactions. ‘Oh god. Do you think I did the wrong thing?’

‘What? No way, mate! You finally did the right thing! Those gobshites did not deserve you and your talent. I just … I can’t believe it.’

‘Me neither,’ marvels Em. ‘This is some serious main character energy, babes. I absolutely love it. You totally did the right thing.’

‘Yep, you’re a legend, Jess,’ says Stella.

‘Thanks, guys,’ I say, wavering slightly. ‘It’s just that all this no-longer-being-employed is a bit fiscally terrifying. Especially if I keep spending unmentionable amounts of money on sexy swimwear for tonight.’

Wait. Oops. Oh no!

Em gives me a startled look.

‘What’s happening tonight?’ Stella asks.

‘She’s confused, poor thing,’ says Em quickly, holding a hand up to my forehead like I might be about to faint. ‘There’s a lot going on and her energy is all over the place. Would you guys like me to explain about chakras, because—’

‘No, thank you,’ Stella says firmly. ‘Let’s focus on Jess right now. Look, I get that it’s scary leaving the safety of a full-time job, but this is going to open up so many doors for you. And you have savings, right?’

I nod. ‘I was hoping to put down a deposit on a flat in Carpston but, I don’t know … With my parents gone and my relationship with Otis over, and now my job at the Courier jacked in, I’m not all that sure that there’s much to keep me there anymore.’

Em whistles. ‘Big changes for our Jessie.’

‘Bit scary,’ I say. ‘I think that’s why I haven’t said anything until now. I felt like voicing it all made it more real, somehow.’

‘We’re here for you,’ Stella says. ‘Come and stay with me and Fran while you figure it all out, if you’d like?’

‘Erm, no, Jessie will be coming to stay with me,’ Em says. ‘We’ll be out every night. Actually, I’m organising a sex party—’

‘You already mentioned that and it’s a firm no,’ Stella butts in.

I laugh. ‘Thanks, guys. I feel very loved.’

‘I’m just so pleased you told Bryan to stick it. But, wait, why’s he calling you?’ Em asks.

‘No clue,’ I admit. ‘I don’t yet feel brave enough to talk to him on the phone. Pretty sure the last thing I said to him was “eff you”.’

‘Sounds pretty tame given the circs, babes.’

‘I’d have called him Bollock Face because he does look like a giant ball sack,’ says Stella. ‘Have you thought about what you might do next?’

‘Yes, endlessly,’ I admit. ‘But I can’t seem to settle on anything. It’s almost like I’m so worried about what I’m going to do next that I can’t make a decision.’

‘I hear you,’ Stella says, grabbing my hand. ‘It can be hugely overwhelming. This is one of those times where you need a little time and space so you can really listen to your heart.’

‘Stella!’ Em gasps, impressed. ‘That is so true, babes. I feel like you read that on Zodiac Girlie, am I right? I knew that she’d rub off on you eventually.’

She claps her hands together like a proud parent and Stella chooses to ignore her completely.

‘Jess,’ she says. ‘What are your options?’

I nod. ‘As it stands, I plan to carry on volunteering at the local charity bookshop as soon as I get back from this holiday, but after that I’m in two minds. Do I look for other digital editor jobs? Or do I try to work out how I can actually work with books and earn money for it?’

Stella looks thoughtful as she processes this.

‘I think, if you’ve got some cushion with your savings, then volunteering is a great idea in the short term while you apply for other jobs. Maybe you could try both – bookshop gigs and journalism jobs? It would keep all options open to you, and maybe doing some different job interviews would help you to figure out where you really want to be.’

‘That sounds sensible,’ I say.

‘I mean, sure, although you should clearly be working in a bookshop, babes,’ says Em. ‘I’d focus on that if I were you. And also just enjoy this time, embrace it as a chance to try something new.’

‘So, mixed advice then.’ I grin.

‘We’re here for you, Jess,’ Stella says.

‘Thanks, guys.’ Finally sharing this with my friends feels like a weight has been lifted. The future’s not that scary, right? Well, maybe still quite scary, but I can’t help but feel excited about it all too.