Chapter 12
NOAH
It was almost lunchtime and we were on the coach to Oia, one of the most famous villages in Santorini.
I was doing my best to focus on the views, but instead I was thinking about Ali who was sitting beside me again.
After we’d met up with Kayleigh and Adonis we went to the group meeting point.
From my research, I knew that the journey time from Fira to Oia would be longer than the trip from the hotel to Fira.
So after Ali and I had given Petros our postcards, which he’d kindly agreed to post for us, I’d taken him to one side to ask what the landscape would be like during the journey.
He’d confirmed what I’d feared: many of the roads ran along cliff edges. And although some stretches had guardrails, others, especially the older or narrower roads, were more exposed.
Knowing that this would freak Ali out, this time I asked Kayleigh if she’d mind swapping again and promised that I’d make it up to her later.
From the way she’d bitten her lip suggestively, I suspected that she had very different ideas of how I could do that, but I’d deal with her misunderstanding later.
My priority right now had to be making sure my best friend was okay.
What she went through that fateful day was traumatic.
It was a miracle that she’d even started travelling again and was open to coming to a place like Santorini.
Even years later I knew there was still a long way to go until Ali had healed properly.
I wasn’t sure if she ever would completely, but until then, I’d do everything I could to protect her.
Ali’s eyes fluttered shut and in a way I was relieved. The coach was climbing higher, which made the drop steeper.
The landscape was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
As you’d expect from an island that was formed by a volcanic eruption, there wasn’t much vegetation or greenery, the land was raw with deep brown and charcoal-black volcanic soil.
But that made the contrast of the striking whitewashed luxury cave hotels and private villas with pools that were carved directly into the cliffside even more striking.
It was definitely a good call not to let Ali have the window seat because like Petros had said, some of the drops were steep and sudden. There were hairpin turns, sharp inclines and roads that felt very exposed. I enjoyed the views, but they wouldn’t have gone down well with her.
My gaze moved to the multiple cruise ships anchored in the dark blue sea, but not even taking in that sight could distract my focus from returning to my earlier conversation with Ali. That was an eye-opener to say the least.
First, I was curious about why she’d suddenly taken such an interest in whether or not I’d slept with Kayleigh.
As far as Ali knew, I’d known the woman for less than twenty-four hours, so to assume that we’d already jumped into bed together was a stretch.
Especially considering I got the impression that she thought I’d spent most of my evenings this past year sitting at home in front of the TV sipping hot cocoa.
No wonder she was shocked when I told her that I’d hooked up with different women since I’d moved to the other side of London.
But why did Ali even care? She’d made it clear on more occasions than I could count that I was ‘like a brother’ to her and that she didn’t see me ‘like that’.
Perhaps she was just being nosy.
Or maybe because she’d already slept with Adonis, Ali was seeking some kind of reassurance that it was okay. But she didn’t need my approval. What she did with her body was up to her.
There was a chance that she wanted me to ask her whether she’d shagged Adonis, but there was no need, when I already knew she had. The last thing I wanted was for her to start relaying all the details.
I dug my nails into my palm and tried to think of something else.
Annoyingly my mind decided it wasn’t done with this analysis so focused on another interesting conversation thread. This time, it was when Ali said she wasn’t surprised that I’d been getting female attention because I’d ‘always been cute’.
That was news to me.
At no point had I ever thought that she considered me attractive.
Then again, I was getting ahead of myself. ‘Cute’ wasn’t the same as calling me ‘hot’, which was the adjective she no doubt used for guys like Adonis. ‘Cute’ was what you called a puppy or kitten or a pretty item of clothing. It didn’t exactly scream ‘I want to rip your clothes off’.
I shook my head. Why was I even thinking about this shit? Making sure that Ali felt safe was one thing, but allowing my thoughts to stray into sexual territory was a big no-no.
I had to give this thing with Kayleigh a shot.
Kayleigh, Kayleigh, Kayleigh.
Just as I’d vowed to focus all my thoughts on my match, Ali’s head dropped on my shoulder.
Shit.
This was exactly what I didn’t need.
Ignoring her scent was challenging enough before, but now her hair was inches away, it was even more intoxicating.
I squeezed my eyes shut and inhaled.
That fragrance sent a wave of memories flooding into my head.
That summer we spent together before I moved away to uni.
Me washing her hair over the bath when she’d hurt her shoulder.
And that time she’d been so exhausted that she’d fallen asleep on my chest.
Now I was in danger of adding another reel to the memory bank: the time she accidently slept on me during our trip to Oia in Santorini.
A stray curl fell onto her cheek and instinctively I quickly brushed it away before gently tucking it behind her ear.
‘Is everything okay, here?’
My head bolted up and I saw Petros standing in the aisle. His eyebrow raised with curiosity.
Out of context, this didn’t look great.
‘Yeah, all good. Ali has a fear of sitting at window seats in a moving vehicle and Adonis preferred the aisle seat, so Kayleigh swapped. That way Ali and Adonis both got the aisle seat. Problem solved!’
‘I see,’ Petros said in a tone that suggested he didn’t get it at all.
I could see how it would be easy to assume that there was more to this then there actually was. I’d been matched with Kayleigh, yet here I was with Ali looking cosy with her head on my shoulder and now I’d just brushed some hair off her cheek, which might be considered a romantic gesture.
But in this case, it wasn’t. It was just a purely practical action. Who wanted hair on their face when they were trying to sleep? I was being helpful, that was all.
‘She fell asleep and I felt bad about waking her up, y’know?’
‘Uh-huh.’ He nodded slowly before continuing down the aisle then chatting to another couple.
Something told me he didn’t believe me.
Shit.
As much as I wanted to be there as a friend for Ali, I’d have to find another solution for helping her tomorrow.
We couldn’t keep sitting together on coach journeys. Not just because the optics weren’t good. Mainly because… well, because of a million reasons.
Most importantly because it wasn’t fair on Kayleigh.
She deserved not just my respect but also my presence.
As her match I needed to give her my full, undivided attention.
I’d speak to Adonis. It wasn’t my place to tell him about Ali’s past and why where she sat on the coach was so critical, but I’d find a way to make him see reason.
It made me angry that I even had to explain that he should show some compassion to his match, but if that was what was needed, I’d do it.
That one small action would solve all of our problems.
It was the only option.