~ 3 ~
Lily
Sleeping in didn’t quite happen for me. I made some coffee while everyone slept.
I was too excited to get up and start the day hence tip toeing around the villa trying not to wake anyone up.
Vicky’s friends weren’t phased by the celebrity status I’d somehow acquired as a footballer.
I felt like I could be myself here. I liked it.
“Good morning.” Rona appeared behind me in the kitchen.
“Hey, morning,” I replied, surprised to have company this early.
“You’re up early.”
I smiled. “Yeah. An old habit.”
“I’m a terrible sleeper. Thought I’d just get up and get on with the day. No use lying in bed thinking when I can do it down here in this beautiful house with a coffee in my hand, right?”
“Right. Coffee?”
Rona smiled. “Full disclosure, I heard it being made and I came down for it.”
I laughed. “Strategic.”
We sat in the garden beside an olive tree and the birds singing their morning songs.
Rona was quiet as we sipped our coffee. Last night, she looked so hot on stage, and her glasses really added to her overall look for me.
She came across as natural, relaxed, energetic, almost nerdy, and intellectual.
I’d never made the connection between electronic dance music and bookish intellectual lesbian before, but now it made so much sense.
Her songs were intelligent and demanded further enquiry.
It was obvious she put a lot of thought into the whole production and there was a deeper meaning behind each of the songs she selected and played. I was already hooked.
I took another sip of coffee, stealing a look at her across the rim of my cup. “What were you thinking about in bed this morning?”
Rona looked at me, as if gauging how much to share. “An idea for a song.”
“Oh really? What is it?”
“It’s nothing concrete yet. It’s more of a feeling at this stage. Something about joy. I think it’s because I had such a wonderful time last night.”
“I’m already intrigued. Will you write it?”
Rona took a thoughtful sip of coffee. “I think I will, yes.”
“You said you’re a music producer but you’re like, famous.”
“I’m not famous. The average person on the street wouldn’t know who I am and I like it that way.”
“Wikipedia and the internet don’t think so. Neither did all the people at the festival last night. They went wild for you.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. They were up for a party either way.”
“You don’t like the spotlight, do you?”
“No. I find it overwhelming. That’s why I try to keep away from it. Like, I’m grateful to have had success with my band, and still be able to produce music for others, but I’ll keep part of my music just for me, you know.”
I’d never had that option with football.
Everything I did had been on full display both on and off the pitch for so much of my life.
My every move analysed and judged. I’d never really thought about it but maybe that was why I sometimes felt I had more fun at training than I did in the high-pressure matches.
I sipped more coffee, entranced by this talented, clever, and intriguing woman next to me. “I listened to some of your hits with Sculpt last night before I went to sleep. They’re great songs. I remember liking them a lot when they came out. Was it ten years ago?”
“Thirteen.”
“Vicky has talked about you for ages. I should know more about you, I’m sorry. I blame Vicky’s chaotic storytelling and myself for not asking more follow-up questions.”
“You really have nothing to apologise for. It’s not like you haven’t been busy winning leagues and Euros or anything.”
“True but also not true. Plenty of my teammates have had time for lives outside of football. I’ve been so focused on staying in condition to keep playing for so long into my thirties. I haven’t had the headspace to explore new music, new anything, for a while.”
“It sounds like you’ve been hugely committed to your craft.”
“My body was ready to retire about two years ago. I’ve been battling lots of injuries. It started to feel like I might be doing lasting damage to myself. I pushed my body way beyond her limits.”
“Can I ask what age you are?”
I smiled. “I’m thirty-nine.”
“That’s really good going. It must have taken a lot of dedication to keep going at the highest level.”
“It did. But it’s over now. I’m a free person, you could say.”
Rona leaned forward. “Are you enjoying being free of it?”
“I’m not sure yet. It hasn’t really sunk in. I’m directionless, I know that.”
“You don’t know what you want to do next?”
“I want to talk to you.”
We were silent for a moment. I couldn’t believe I’d said that.
It was true and very bold and direct, and it was also a major deflection away from the fact that I did not want to talk about what I was going to do next.
I’d been changing the subject with everyone when they asked me that question for a while now.
I’d gotten to the point where I’d forbidden Nikki and Sophie from bringing it up. My parents too.
Rona blushed.
“Would you like another coffee?” I asked, desperately hoping she would stay and talk to me and that I hadn’t made it weird. “Breakfast? Actually, I’ll need to go to the local shop.”
“You don’t need to do that we have plenty of food.” Rona smiled, warmly.
We had breakfast together. Rona was so easy to get along with.
I found out she lived in London not too far from me.
Her parents lived on the Kent coast. She’d been playing music since as long as she could remember, and even before that according to her parents.
Her favourite football team was Tottenham Hotspur, and I said I wouldn’t hold it against her.
“Do you want to take a walk down to the beach? We could take towels and go for a swim?” Rona fiddled with one of the many bracelets on her wrist.
“That sounds perfect to me.”
In my bedroom, I slathered myself with sunscreen and slipped my bikini on underneath my loose t-shirt and linen shorts. I loved hot places and the excitement of getting ready to spend time at the beach.
Adidas sliders and designer sunglasses clad, I met Rona by the outdoor dining area in the garden.
She was wearing a multi-coloured tank top, which showed off her toned waist, baggy sport shorts and bright yellow flip-flops.
I loved her quirky style and tried not to stare at the gentle definition of her abs.
“How to spot a couple of sapphics in the wild,” Rona pointed back and forth between us. “What they choose to wear to the beach.”
I laughed from my belly, not expecting her to come out with something like that. “What, straight women don’t wear baggy t-shirts and shorts?”
“I think straight women and femmes usually wear maxi dresses or something.”
“Each to their own,” I chuckled. “Well, I have a bikini on under here, so I don’t know if I’m bucking some stereotype or not.”
Rona’s eyes widened for a second, dropping to scan my body momentarily. She didn’t say anything though.
The walk to the beach was quiet. The island had that slow pace that was so relaxing.
We headed along a single-track path past some trees, which offered some shade.
We took it easy going down the many steps down the hill, especially as we were both in sandals.
My knee clicked with each step. Hopefully, Rona couldn’t hear it.
I walked behind her, absorbing this new human being I could not believe how lucky I was to have met.
Talking to her felt effortless, like we already knew each other.
I loved that she loved what she did for a living.
We had the same friends. She had experience of success and fame, but it didn’t sit right with her either.
Even being in silence with one another already felt comfortable.
I hardly felt that way with people. Something special was happening here, but I tried not to let myself get carried away.
It had been less than twenty-four hours since I’d met this woman for goodness sake.
At the foot of the steps, with that salty sea-air on my skin and sand already between my toes, I watched as Rona put her hands on her hips and took in the beautiful beach.
I had this overwhelming urge to know what she was thinking and feeling.
Like, whatever was going on inside her head was already extremely fascinating to me.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Rona said.
All I saw was her. “No? What?”
“It’s a nudist beach.”
I scanned the scene. She was right. Everyone was naked. In full glory.
“Look, there’s a sign. They have this section of the beach for three hours every morning, between there and there.” Rona pointed at the flags on sticks stuck into the sand.
“Should we move on to another part of the beach?”
She turned to me. “If that’s okay, yes.”
We stayed near the sand dunes as we headed for the quieter part of the beach and kept our distance from the bouncing bodies enthusiastically playing volleyball, as nice as they were. I had nothing against nudism but wasn’t really in the mood for it right now. I just wanted to talk to Rona.
“It’s amazing to me how some people are able to walk around naked like that. No judgement, at all, it’s just I could never,” Rona said.
“Yeah me neither. Not during the day in public like this.”
“I guess if the paparazzi took a picture of you prancing around naked on a beach they could make a lot of money from it.”
“Oh my God, can you imagine?”
We walked along the beach in the morning sun. It was warming up. I glanced over at Rona, who seemed lost in thought. She seemed like more of a quiet person. In my opinion the quiet ones were always the best.
“Did you ever feel naked when you were out there performing on the pitch in front of thousands of people? Or vulnerable?”